Teddie Bear Hugs
by Wherever Girl
Summary: A collection of drabbles centered around Kanji and Teddie. Some various pairings, but mostly fluffy bromance. *Credit to my boyfriend for inspiring these ideas*
1. Stormy Night

***~*Stormy Night*~***

The rain poured heavily through the night, having started early in the morning but had yet to stop. The river at the floodplain was probably rising up to the concrete steps as much as it had been storming lately. Chances are, the streets were probably flooding and wouldn't drain until the next morning- thankfully tomorrow was Sunday, so no one would have to worry about getting to school or work.

But that was the least of Teddie's problems.

As lighting flashed and thunder rolled, the little blonde shivered, pulling the blankets up to his chin. He looked at the window by mistake, seeing a lightning bolt streak down in the black sky. Whimpering, he covered his face.

He hated rainstorms, and for good reason. The former-bear could only think about what it was like in the TV world when it got foggy in Inaba the morning after a rainy night.

When it was foggy in the TV World, the Shadows weren't so bad- a bit vicious, but otherwise they kept to themselves (save for the times the Investigation Team would fight them); but once the fog lifted the morning after a rainstorm in this world, the monsters would be beyond voracious…

Teddie winced; even before the unknown killer started throwing people into the television, the Shadows were anything but benevolent. He could still remember the screeches and roars as the creatures tore each other apart, blood splattering all over while parts of them littered the ground. Teddie during those times would always hide somewhere until the fog set in and the monsters calmed down.

But dark memories weren't the only things that caused him to hate storms. No, with every rainy night someone always went missing, ending up on the Midnight Channel; and on foggy mornings… a dead body would appear.

Thankfully the Investigation Team managed to rescue people who showed up on the Midnight Channel… but there was one case where a dead body was found without the victim being thrown inside the TV at all.

Perhaps the killer managed to throw someone in the night before the foggy morning. The way Teddie's nose was working at the time, the bear was having trouble sensing anyone. Thankfully no one showed up on the Midnight Channel tonight, but the recent murder kept everyone on-edge.

Who knows what the Shadows did to normal people? Without any Personas to defend themselves…

Thunder roared. Lightning flashed.

Teddie flinched. He couldn't take it anymore! The storm was giving him too many creepy thoughts to think about and depriving him of sleep!

Picking up his pillow, he walked out of the guest bedroom.

Since his coming to the real world, he had been staying with Yosuke; however the teen had to pull a double-shift at Junes- Teddie was allowed a night off since the blonde barely took time off, but no one would be home at the Hanamura residence tonight.

He thought about asking Yu for accommodations, but dear Sensei had to work at the hospital tonight (as crazy as the weather was, Teddie considered him very brave); He then took this chance to ask if he could stay with one of the girls, hoping that maybe one of them would have a room (he figured Yukiko had several, working at her family's Inn and everything), but sadly such chances were squandered as the girls… oh, how did Yosuke once put it?... Shot him down.

That left one other option... and Teddie really wished he were with his Sensei as he stood in front of his host's bedroom door, slightly ajar.

Lightning flashed again, making him flinch.

Mustering up his courage, the little blonde entered the room, nervously approaching the futon. "K… Kanji?" he whispered, giving the larger teen a tap on the shoulder.

"Mmph…" Kanji grunted, deep in his sleep. His snoring continued, giving the thunder a run for its money.

"Kanji!" Teddie whispered again, only slightly louder; he shook his friend's shoulder this time.

"Zz…! Wha…?" The rebel opened one eye at a time, groggily looking up at the former-bear. "The hell, Ted…? Unless this place is on fire… zzz…" He was dosing off again.

"Kanji, wake up!"

"WHAT?!"

Teddie cringed, shaking with nerves at his host's tone of voice. "I… I… n-never mind." Hugging his pillow, he turned to leave.

Kanji sighed, slightly irritated. "Teddie, it's 1 in the morning. What do you want?" he demanded, in a gruff but calmer tone.

The little blonde bit his lip. "It's raining…" he stated, awkwardly.

Kanji arched an eyebrow; if his friend only woke him up to give him a weather-forecast…! "So?"

Teddie shifted. "I-I was wondering… um… well…"

"Spit it out, Ted, I'm tired."

"It's just, ah…"

*Crack! BOOM!*

Thunder and lightning collided in symphony outside, the sound practically shaking the house!

"KanjicanIsleepwithyoutonight?!" Teddie blurted out, filled with fear.

There was a moment of silence. Only the sound of rain hitting the windows could be heard.

There was a sleepy, perplexed look on Kanji's face as he tried to comprehend the question. "…Say that again?" he asked, confused.

"Can I… sleep in here tonight? I-I can't sleep because of the storm," Teddie admitted.

Kanji only looked at him, before sighing and muttering something under his breath. For a moment, the former-bear figured the rebel would decline and make him go back to his room… so he was pretty surprised when the larger teen only scooted over on his mattress, turning his back to him while slamming his palm onto the other side, mumbling. "Fine. Stay on your side,"

Teddie blushed. "I'm sleeping in your bed…?"

Kanji shot him a glare. "Would you rather sleep on the floor?!"

"Bed's fine!" Teddie shuffled over, inching onto the mattress, still clinging to his pillow.

His host let out another heavy sigh. With his back to him, Teddie could still sense the irritated look on his face as his eyes shut.

The little blonde shut his eyes as well. He didn't exactly want to be so close to the bleach-haired teen, but if it helped distract him from the dark thoughts the storm plagued his mind with, he could deal with it…

*BOOM!*

…almost.

Teddie bit his lip, hugging his pillow so tight he was worried feathers would burst out of it. With his eyes shut tight he could only see the Shadows attacking one another, or imagine bodies hanging from some high point…

He opened his eyes, just in time for lightning to flash again, highlighting the room-

And he saw they were surrounded by Shadows!

Teddie gasped loudly, yanking the covers over his head!

…

And off of Kanji's shoulders. "What the hell?!" The bleach-haired teen snapped, sitting up. He glared at Teddie. "Gimme back my blankets! …Geez, Ted, what is with you tonight?!"

"S-S-Shadows…!" Teddie poked a trembling finger out.

Kanji looked around the room, then groaned. "There aren't any Shadows here, Ted. Look." He pulled the blankets off in order to make Teddie see…

Noticing tear-streaks on his friend's face.

Teddie opened one eye, looking around. Sitting up and getting a good look, he realized that the 'Shadows' were just silhouettes of the furniture around the room. "O-Oh…" he sighed.

"Teddie… are you alright?" Kanji said, a lot more calmly than before. "W-Why are you crying?"

The former-bear wiped his eyes. He was used to being seen crying; he had cried in front of Sensei and the others plenty of times. However this time, he felt embarrassed. "I-I'm not crying. Just… allergies. Yeah." He lied.

*BOOM!* went the thunder again.

Teddie yelped, grabbing the blankets and covering his head again. A whimper escaped his throat, despite his restraint.

Kanji looked at his friend, then out at the storm. Putting two and two together, he stood up. "Hold on," he said, and walked over to the window.

Teddie peeked out, watching as the bleach-haired teen closed the blinds on his window, pulling the curtains shut over them. Lightning flashed, but he could only see glimpses of it from the tiny gaps on the sides of the covering.

Thunder rolled again, making him cringe. A moment later, something was placed over his ears. A pair of headphones. "Here, listen to this." Kanji said, plugging in his mp3 player.

The little blonde listened as the song _Memories of the City_ played through the headphones, the soothing melody not only blocking out the sound of the storm, but also calming his nerves. He sighed with relief, lying down on the futon.

Kanji lied down next, letting out an exhausted sigh himself. Adjusting the blankets so they were both covered, he looked at the little blonde. Teddie was so annoying at times… but once he calmed down, the rebel didn't mind his company.

He shut his eyes, listening to the rain hit the windowpane, the thunder rumbling with the occasional flash of lightning. He understood why his friend hated storms- who wouldn't hate them if every morning after there was a chance a dead body would show up? But for the rebel himself, he found the sound of the rain calming so long as he didn't focus on the murders.

Silence outside of the storm fell, and he relaxed.

…

He was drifting off when Teddie tapped him. "Kanji… it shut off," his friend whispered.

"Huh? Oh. The battery must've died…" Kanji realized; he had been listening to music while sewing, lately. Should've made sure it had a fresh battery before letting Ted use it…

Though, it didn't seem to matter now; the storm was starting to lighten up it seemed, as the thunder sounded far off and the lightning flashes were growing further in timing. That, and the little blonde seemed to be drowsy from listening to music for… how long? …10 minutes? His head tilted back onto the pillow as he snuggled under the blankets, shuffling closer to the rebel.

"Um…" Kanji blinked. "Personal space?"

"Mm-hmm…" Teddie hummed, fatigue taking its toll on him. His arm draped across his friend's stomach. "You're warm…"

Kanji turned red. "No I'm not…" he grumbled.

"Okay… zzz…" With that, Ted was out like a light.

"For the love of…! Get off me!" Kanji hissed, trying to push him away; Teddie only snored softly, holding onto him.

The bleach-haired teen groaned. He looked at the clock- it was 1:20 AM. There was nothing planned for tomorrow- everyone decided to take a 'day off' from training in the TV world, the Textile Shop would be closed, so thankfully he would get to sleep in.

Though, not too much… He would have to take Teddie back to his own room sometime in the morning. God forbid his mother walks in and wonders why their guest is sleeping beside her son; much less Teddie blabbing to the others about the rebel acting soft. Hopefully the little blonde will think this was all a kafka dream once he woke up in his own bed.

Kanji yawned. He was too tired to do this much thinking. Teddie breathed softly, the tear-streaks on his face drying. Poor kid, storms really freaked him out didn't they?

Stretching his arm, he wrapped it around his friend's shoulders, reaching up and rubbing his head. The little blonde hummed in his sleep, a relaxed smile on his face as he nuzzled against him. The rebel gave a scoff, smiling as he shut his eyes.

~P4~

Sunlight filtered through the window the next morning, shining on Teddie's face. The former-bear sat up, looking around to find himself back in his room. He was confused for a moment… but seeing that he slept through a foggy morning and no one called to tell him that an incident occurred, he was too relieved to care.

Getting dressed, he walked to the kitchen. "Oh, good morning Teddie. I figured you boys would be sleeping in," Mrs. Tatsumi said with a smile, setting two bowls of cereal and a carton of milk on the table. She then grabbed her purse. "I have to run errands this morning. Would you be a dear and tell Kanji to hang up the laundry while I'm out, please?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Tatsumi."

With a smile and a grateful nod, she left. Teddie sat down at the table, pouring milk into his bowl; a moment later Kanji entered the kitchen, all dressed but still looking sleepy despite it was after 10 AM.

"Morning, Kan-chan!" Teddie said cheerfully.

"G'mor'n…" came a mumble from the larger teen as he sat at the table. "And don't call me that… *yawn*" He looked around the kitchen. "Did Ma go out?"

Teddie nodded. "She's on an errand run. She said you have to hang up the laundry while she's out,"

Kanji grunted, eating his cereal. "'Course she did…"

Teddie finished his cereal. "I'll leave you to it. I'm going to go meet up with Sensei and- oof!"

As the little blonde was starting to stand up, the rebel grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back down. "Hold it! Tatsumi House Rules: If you stay over, you have to help out with the chores! This ain't the Amagi Inn where you can just check-in and check-out, y'know."

The former-bear slumped. "But Kaaaanji…!"

"No whining! …You'd help out Senpai at his place, wouldn't you?"

Teddie thought. Granted when he stayed with Yosuke, he did help with the housework… though he was hoping this time he'd get to skip out.

"C'mon, it'll give Ma less to do." Kanji added when Teddie continued to pout.

"Oh, alright… but only for your mother." Teddie sighed.

After washing their dishes they were in the backyard, hanging clothes and sheets on the line.

Once in a while, Kanji would look over and see Teddie trying to hang something up- sometimes he didn't stretch the clothes out enough, one of the clothespins would fall off the wire… at one point he ended up wrapped up in a sheet when the wind blew it around him!

The rebel sighed, walking over. "Here, let me show you how it's done." He stated, unraveling his friend from the constraining fabric. He gave it a shake, draping it over the line before pinning it in-place. "Always shake the clothes a little first and stretch them out more, otherwise they'll wrinkle."

"Oh, okay." Teddie replied, copying his method.

As they worked, the rebel felt a bit of relief. Teddie didn't bring up last night yet, so perhaps his secret was safe. "Alright, done. Let's head into town," he stated after five minutes, and they walked through the house to the front door.

"Let's swing by Sensei's place first and see if he wants to hang out!"

Kanji shrugged. Yu was the best company out of the rest of the group- at least he was easier to talk to.

"By the way, Kanji…" The little blonde had seemed to fall behind, shifting a bit.

"What?" The rebel asked. He gasped as a pair of arms wrapped around him, as he was hugged.

"Thanks for last night," his friend said softly.

Time seemed to freeze. His eyebrow twitched. Just from the way Teddie spoke, the way he was hugging him… it made Kanji blush. He wanted to snap, but was speechless.

Teddie continued. "I was really scared… all I could think about last night were Shadows and dead bodies and… well, you helped get my mind off it. So thank you." He hugged him tighter. "You're a really good friend, Kanji-chan."

"Um…" Kanji turned, so their position was less awkward. He patted the little blonde on the back. "N-no problem." He pulled away. "But if you tell anyone about it, I'll turn your bear-hide into a rug!"

A sweat-drop appeared over Teddie's head as he pulled away, raising his hands in defense. "I won't, I promise! They probably wouldn't believe me anyway!"

"Good. Now lets go," They walked out the door. As he always knew, Teddie was annoying… but once he calmed down it was nice having him around.

Teddie sighed, but smiled. His friend could keep his tough reputation.

So long as he saw his better side again on their _next_ sleepover.


	2. The Roll Treatment

***~*The Roll Treatment*~***

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon in the town of Inaba. Not very uncommon weather, as for the past several months the townsfolk were used to the stormy on-and-off weather.

But that didn't make it any less dreary, especially for someone who loved being outside all day long.

Namely Teddie.

The former-bear looked out the window. School had ended two hours ago, and he was really looking forward to hanging out with Sensei and the others. But, any plans were cancelled- all that they could do was go to Junes and enter the TV World to train, but Yu decided they needed to conserve their energy.

Of course, Teddie hated going into the TV World anyway, having lived there his whole life, and the real world had much more to offer instead of vicious Shadows and fog. But going there and fighting alongside his friends sounded a lot more entertaining than being stuck inside all day!

The little blonde sighed, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest, staring at the TV. He was staying with Kanji this weekend, as Yosuke wanted a break from playing host, since Teddie had been staying with him for some time.

The Tatsumi residence was a humble home, but comfortable. Mrs. Tatsumi was working in the shop, so it was only the two teens in the house until evening.

The only sound outside the rain was the hum of a sewing machine; Kanji was working on a project, often spending his free time making stuffed animals to fulfill requests. A nice gesture, in Teddie's opinion, though the rebel had made it clear that he didn't want word to get out about it.

Teddie could understand. Kanji was a tough guy with a tough reputation- if some other tough guys found out, they would probably torment the rebel to no end… maybe even force him to go back to his old ways and cause trouble just to show he wasn't a big softie. This made the blonde shiver; he definitely didn't want Kanji's Persona to revert back to his Shadow- the first time traumatized him enough!

Sometimes Teddie would tease him, using the 'blackmail' in order to have Kanji fulfill his wish. …That's actually how he managed to stay over with the rebel. After his friend gave him a death-threat to keep his 'bear-trap' shut (a clever pun, Teddie had to admit), the little blonde packed up some clothes and came on over for the weekend.

…

Then it started raining. Kanji retreated to his room, telling Teddie he could hang around the guest bedroom or watch TV- stressing his point about the guest NOT TOUCHING ANYTHING without permission, and that was that.

Teddie stared at the television screen. The cable had gone out because of the storm, so the picture was fuzzy; he turned it off, staring blankly at his reflection on the screen. His blue eyes seemed less bright than they usually were, and he looked like a lifeless drone in his depressed state.

He let out a soft moan, resting his face on his arms and knees. He tried taking a nap earlier, but couldn't get comfortable enough to dose off.

He considered going to Kanji and seeing if he wanted to do something, or let him borrow his phone so he could call up one of their other friends to chat, but didn't want to end up pissing off his host.

He felt like he was in a cage- nothing to do, unable to go anywhere, and feeling cramped.

A deeper moan escaped as he looked at the clock; only two minutes had passed.

His depression deepened. When would this torture end…?

"Hey, you alright?"

Teddie looked up, seeing Kanji standing in the doorway. "...I'm depressed…" he mumbled.

"No kidding. I could hear you moaning from the hallway. What's got you down?"

"I dunno… there's nothing to do, and we can't go anywhere…" he sighed, putting his face back in his arms. "…oh, and the cable is out."

Kanji stared at him for a few moments. Granted, when he was happy and hyper, Teddie was a pain in the ass… but seeing him so low was worse. He remembered the first time he and the others saw the bear depressed- how he was feeling 'left out' and alone. Seeing the furball in a funk was enough to put anyone down in the dumps…

The rebel walked out of the room for a minute, returning with a large, fluffy polyester blanket, laying it flat on the floor. "C'mere," he told Teddie, beckoning him over to the blanket.

"H-Huh?" his guest replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Just lie down on the blanket, right here." He pointed to one end of the blanket.

Confused, the little blonde walked over and lied down, the rebel moving his arms so that they were folded over his chest. Kanji then grabbed the corners of the blanket and folded them over his friend's legs and shoulders. Keeping his hands placed on the fabric, he pushed and rolled his guest up in the blanket, until he looked like a little burrito.

"Whoa…! What…?" Teddie exclaimed, wiggling a bit.

"Hold still," Kanji then scooped him up in his arms, placing him on the couch. "Wait here, and don't move."

Teddie blinked, watching as Kanji retreated into the kitchen; the guest considered climbing out of his little cocoon, but dared not undo his friend's…whatever he was working on with this gesture.

The rebel returned with a package of animal crackers and a glass of milk, setting them on the end-table. Before Teddie could ask, he was opening the package and taking out a cracker, holding it up to his mouth. "…Go on. Take it." Kanji said when the little blonde only stared.

Hesitantly, Teddie tilted his head forward and ate the cracker. This repeated for two more times, before Kanji held up the glass of milk with a straw to give him a drink. After two minutes the snack was finished.

Kanji then turned on the TV, though the picture was still fuzzy; he pounded on the top of it (making Teddie flinch) until the picture came in clear, and he changed the channel until _Hamtaro_ came on before sitting back down next to Teddie, wrapping one arm around the fluffy burrito and having his head rest on his shoulder, his hand rubbing his arm.

The former-bear looked up at his friend, who was only watching the program now, though kept rubbing his arm. "Um… why did you do this, Kanji-san?" he finally asked.

"Are you still depressed?" Kanji asked.

"No… but I am confused. What gave you this idea?"

The rebel shrugged. "Just figured I'd do something to entertain you. Now hush up- I like this episode."

Teddie stayed quiet after that.

Unbeknownst to him, this idea was a Tatsumi family original- anytime the bleach-haired teen was sad as a child, his mother would roll him up in a blanket, set him on the couch, feed him snacks, and watch television with him as they snuggled. He figured if a little kid would enjoy it, Teddie would too.

It seemed to work, as Teddie's eyes became bright again judging from his reflection in the TV, and the little blonde sighed happily as he curled up tighter in his cocoon. "Comfortable?" Kanji asked, having to grin.

"Mm-hmm," Teddie replied with a smile of his own, closing his eyes and snuggling closer. "Thanks, Kan-chan."

"Don't call…" the rebel was about to reply, but the relaxed look on his friend's face stopped him. "…I mean… anytime, Ted."

He continued rubbing Teddie's arm while watching television, before drifting off himself.

…

Mrs. Tatsumi walked in twenty minutes later. "Kanji, I'm home. How is our guest… doing?" she asked, though paused at the sight.

Her son and their guest were lying next to each other on the couch, snoring softly as the television went fuzzy again. Smiling and awing to herself, she walked over and grabbed a spare blanket, draping it over Kanji before quietly walking out of the room.

"Such a sweetheart," she whispered to herself, before going to the kitchen to fix dinner. The boys would be hungry once they woke up, she was sure.

~P4~

Sunday came quick the next day, and with a day off from school everyone decided to head to Junes to train. After a couple hours, Yosuke made the proposal they take a break and get something to eat at the food court. "We're going to have to buy our own meals," Yu stated, looking through his wallet. "I spent most of my money on new equipment for everyone,"

"Aww, Senpai, you didn't have to do that." Rise stated in her bubbly tone, giving him a nudge.

"(Geez, just ask him out already)," Chie whispered under her breath. She turned to Yukiko. "Wanna share with me, Yukiko?"

"Chie, I told you I'm trying to lose weight…" Yukiko sighed.

"What weight?! If you lose anymore, you'll be a skeleton…!"

"Yeah, I wish I were as thin as you, Yuki-senpai." Rise added.

Chie shot her a look. "Don't you start too…!"

"Sheesh, Chie, calm down before you pop a blood vessel," Yosuke joked, only to get elbowed in the ribs. "OOF! Ow! Dammit…! That's it! I WAS going to offer you a discount on some steak, but I think the price just went up for you!"

Naoto looked at Yu. "I don't think anyone let off enough steam in training," she commented. "Even Tatsumi is calm compared to them,"

"You get used to it," Yu replied with a shrug.

As for Kanji and Teddie themselves, they were walking in the back, listening as Chie and Yosuke argued. "By the way, Kanji… will you pay for my meal today?" Teddie asked.

"What? No way! You make enough money, you can buy your own meal." Kanji scoffed.

"But I spent it all already… Please, just this one time?"

The rebel crossed his arms. "No way. You still owe me for those Topcicles last summer."

"Oh fine…" Teddie then rolled his eyes sheepishly. "If you don't mind me telling the others about your _hospitality_ yesterday…~"

Kanji froze, shock all over his face. "Y-You wouldn't…! They wouldn't believe you!"

"I can be pretty convincing." Teddie turned towards the group. "Hey, guys, guess what Kanji and I did yester-AUGH!" He ducked as Kanji made a swipe for him, taking off in a sprint.

The rebel pursued. "Get back here, you blackmailing-bastard…!" he bellowed.

The others watched as Kanji chased Teddie all over the food court, knocking over tables or chairs in their haste. "Spoke too soon." Naoto stated.

"Guys, stop! …Argh, one of you has to clean this up!" Yosuke shouted.

Yu shook his head, watching the pursuit go on. Was there ever going to be a time when those two got along?


	3. Sleeping Aid

***~*Sleeping Aid*~***

 _Worst. Sleepover. EVER!_

That was what went through Teddie's mind as the boys rushed into their [supposedly haunted] room at the Amagi Inn.

The Team had decided to spend the night at Yukiko's family hotel, with Nanako invited along while Dojima was out of town. The blonde was expecting so much for such an occasion- namely soaking in the hot springs and hanging out with the girls.

But neither happened. The moment they got to the hot-springs, the girls pelted them all with buckets! Buckets! To the FACE! Fighting Shadows in the TV World was more pleasant than a headshot-by-pail!

Things got worse as loud moaning filled the halls, and the boys figured out they were in the room that TV reporter, Miss Yamano, stayed in before she was murdered. Scared, they ran to the girls room to sneak in and spend the night…

…Ending up in the wrong room. Teddie shuddered- he and Kanji almost ended up snuggling with those awful women from the school Beauty Pageant! He'd be having nightmares for a week!

"Ugh… what a night…" Yosuke groaned, slumping onto his futon. "I don't care if this room is haunted or not… I just want to sleep and get this whole weekend over and done with."

"Pretty sure a ghost would be less horrifying than what we just saw," Yu responded, lying down.

"Remind me again why we like girls?" Kanji sneered.

"I'll tell you once I remember myself,"

"I thought you hated women?" Yosuke questioned Kanji.

*DOOF!*

A pillow socked Yosuke in the face. "Don't start that again!" Kanji snarled, before bitterly curling up on his futon. "Lets just sleep…first thing tomorrow morning I'm going home."

"Yeah… this sleepover wasn't as fun as I hoped it would be…" Teddie muttered. He looked at Yu. "…Next time, can we sleep at Sensei's house?"

"Sure," Yu replied.

Teddie smiled, then turned out the lights. Within the minute Kanji was already out, Yosuke and Yu drifting off shortly after. The blonde, however, was having trouble sleeping.

It was dark in the room, well past midnight, and the moonlight through the trees cast shadows through the windows, giving the room an eerie atmosphere. He considered crawling back into his bear-suit- during their haste back to the room he leaped out of it in order to gain more speed. He looked around, seeing that he had dropped it on the other side of the room the moment they ran in.

He sat up to get it…

 _*tap tap tap*_

"Eep!" he gasped, ducking under his blanket. He peeked out… seeing it was just a tree-branch being blown against the window.

He sighed, then planted his face on his pillow. _Why am I getting so worked up so easily? I can't keep acting like a coward. What would Sensei think? I told everyone I would get stronger after all-_

 _*groan*_

"Gah- what's that?" Teddie whimpered, sitting up in shock, his eyes darting back and forth.

The noise continued, as he realized it was coming from right beside him...

Turning out to be Kanji snoring.

 _Oh, good grief!_ Teddie sighed, rubbing his face, embarrassed with himself… and slightly annoyed with the rebel for disrupting his attempt at sleep. He looked over at his Sensei and Yosuke, who didn't seem troubled by the sound. He looked back at Kanji…

Noticing his expression; while Yosuke and Yu seemed more relaxed, Kanji's expression was… angry. Not that it was any different than usual- it was rare for the blonde to see him without a glare and a scowl. _Did his face just freeze from being mad so often?_ He wondered, sitting up on his elbow as he studied his friend; what kind of dreams was causing him to make such a bitter expression?

Normally Teddie would drift off easily, namely by watching others sleep. But it was no use tonight, seeing that one of his friends looked irritated in his slumber.

…

He couldn't stand it.

Reaching over, the blonde stroked the top of the rebel's head, in hopes to help his friend relax. Running his fingers through his hair, he noticed just how soft it was. As he rubbed it, a few strands drooped over his face, and the former-bear realized that he must have brushed his bangs back to suit his style. …He didn't know why- stroking them down, he thought Kanji looked better with bangs.

While brushing the bangs down, Teddie let his hand slide down and rest on the side of the rebel's face, his thumb caressing his cheek. Kanji flinched a little in his sleep but relaxed, his brows no longer furrowed and his scowl had softened.

 _There, that's much better,_ Teddie thought with a smile- maybe his actions were helping his friend have a better dream.

Yet… something felt strange. Seeing Kanji sleeping so peacefully should have put his heart at-ease.

Instead, it was pounding at quite the high rate!

…

Also he had yet to pull his hand away, as it was still cupped against the side of Kanji's face.

Realizing this, Teddie slowly pulled it away… and instead let it drift onto the rebel's arm. As close as he was lying to him right now, pulling away quick would expose his friend to the sudden lack of warmth, and may upset his dreaming.

At least, that's the only excuse Teddie could think of. Otherwise, he didn't know the reason, other than he just wanted to rest his hand on his arm. Doing so, he felt the teen's muscles- he certainly worked out a lot, didn't he? _I hope I can have muscles like these, someday,_ he found himself thinking.

Kanji shifted in his sleep, his arm bending upward and draping over the small blonde, pulling him close. He was snuggling with him in his sleep!

Teddie froze, feeling his heart-rate beating at the speed of light; his ear was pressed against his friend's chest, and he could hear his own soft heartbeat: _ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum…_ it was very soothing to hear. (In all honesty, the blonde often forgot the rebel even had a heart, as rough and tough he often acted).

He shut his eyes. This position made him feel warm and safe… granted he wanted to be with one of the girls like this, as he previously intended. But, secretly, it felt just as good with Kanji- his strong arms made him feel extra secure, his heartbeat calmed him a great deal, and the rebel (despite his reputation) was actually a great hugger. The way he held Teddie close, gently squeezing him… the blonde felt like he was going to melt from the warm, fuzzy feeling his friend was giving him!

Eyes growing heavy, the blonde nuzzled against Kanji, curling up against him so to make sure there wasn't even an inch of space between them.

Soon, he was fast asleep.

…

Kanji opened one eye, having to grin. Hearing his friend's tiny yelps had disturbed him from his sleep- he remained still, though couldn't hide his irritation.

When Teddie reached over and rubbed his head, caressing his face, he had every mind to sit up and snap at the blonde… but it was late, and he knew his senpais were already fast asleep, so he didn't want to cause more of a ruckus.

Plus… he was curious on what the blonde was up to.

When he draped his arm over him, it was a test to see exactly how Teddie would react. Would he pull away? Try to 'wake' him up? …It was a surprise the little blonde let the rebel pull him close, relaxing as his head was pressed against his abdomen so he could hear his heartbeat. Kanji had to keep himself calm- if his friend heard his heart racing, it could give him away. It was simple- he just imagined snuggling with one of his plush-toys.

In a way, this was much better.

…Although, he was worried about being caught by his senpais in the morning.

Thinking this, he looked over… having to grin.

During their own slumber, Yu and Yosuke found a way into each other's arms as well, their leader having his best-friend lying face-to-face with him, both of them having their arms draped around each other.

The rebel had to contain a snicker. And to think they wasted time trying to sneak into the girls' room. _We probably would've ended up getting our asses kicked anyway._ He figured. God willing the next time they hung out like this, they'd have less trouble.

He shut his eyes, sighing deeply as he rubbed Teddie's back, cuddling against him a little more. No one was around to see, so there was no reason to feel embarrassed. Besides, this whole weekend sucked- he needed some sort of stress-relief, and hugging the blonde felt like just the thing.

…

Unbeknownst to the boys, someone was watching from the doorway.

Naoto, feeling a bit guilty for robbing the guys of their hot-springs privileges, was unable to sleep. Upon hearing shouts from the room next door, she had left the room to investigate, hearing the boys running to the elevators while hearing Kashiwagi and Hananoka giggling in the next room.

Conscience beside her, the Detective Prince decided to make her way to the boy's room to find out exactly what was going on… as well as apologize for the misunderstanding this evening. There was no excuse for her to take Rise's advice and 'keep it a secret'- such a suggestion was irresponsible.

She ended up pausing in the hall, trying to figure out a suitable request for forgiveness that wouldn't cause the boys to seek ramification for Yukiko's fluke. Suggest the boys have the hot-springs first in the morning? Treat them to a nice breakfast? …Aspirin for the headaches they no doubt developed from the pail-projectiles?

She decided a reimbursement could be decided later, and to start with a simple apology. When she reached their room, she noticed the lights were out, and peeked inside to see if the boys were still awake.

They were asleep… and… snuggling?

The Ace Detective blinked, looking again to make sure it wasn't a trick of the eyes. Sure enough, each of the boys had found a partner for their sleepover.

Her eyes were on Kanji, and how tight he was holding Teddie. She had to smile a bit. This was the same rebel who talked her into doing the pageant in order to 'make him a man', yet here he was cuddled against one of the other guys. If the rest of the girls saw them now, no doubt they would be taking pictures to 'blackmail' them.

To her, though, it was… sweet. In her opinion, the differences of gender shouldn't be a matter of intimacy between people- what mattered was feeling comfortable with that person enough to let them close to you. …Not that she could bring herself to feel intimate with anyone- she greatly preferred her personal space, as she established at the hot springs.

Looking at Kanji, though…

She felt herself blush, and shook her head. _Don't be ridiculous. You have a case to focus on._ She told herself. The preliminaries of relationships would have to wait.

At least he had Teddie to keep him occupied at the moment, until then.

Naoto walked back to her room, deciding this would be one secret worth keeping.

It would be one step in apologizing.


	4. Scared?

**~Scared?~**

It was probably the dumbest mistake he ever made.

It was Saturday Night, and the guys were hanging out at Yosuke's house to watch horror movies, as the Horror channel was airing _The Grudge, The Ring,_ and their crossover movie.

And Kanji really wished he stayed home. He hated horror movies ever since he was a kid- he always got nightmares, always lost sleep, and it took him at least a week until he could get a good night's rest.

But, he didn't want to look like a wuss in front of the guys- he didn't want Yu to think he was chicken, Yosuke would no doubt tease him about it until the day he died (or until Kanji knocked his teeth out), and Teddie would probably blab it to everyone.

So, he had to man up and watch the movies- no excuses, no exceptions, just sit and watch… as ghosts crept around… made creepy noises… killed people… shit he could feel himself growing pale.

Near the end of the Grudge flick, Yosuke noticed his wide-eyed expression. " _Uhhhhhhhh…"_ the trash-master senpai moaned, mimicking the noise from the movie.

"S-Shut it!" Kanji snapped gruffly, elbowing him in the ribs. "You sound like you're straining to belch,"

"Tch, you're just scared!" Yosuke teased.

"I thought that was the point of watching these movies? To scare ourselves?" Teddie questioned, sitting close to Yu. "Hey, Sensei… why DO people like to scare themselves?"

"To build up courage," Yu replied, though looked bored after watching the movie. "Kanji-kun, can you go get us some more popcorn?"

"Sure, senpai." Kanji replied, taking the bowl out and being careful not to hurry out of the room. Perhaps if he took long enough, he would miss a few scary scenes in the next thriller.

…

Once he returned, The Ring was already getting started. "Hey, just in time!" Yosuke said with a teasing grin. Kanji ignored him, sitting down.

"So… this movie is about a ghost girl who lives inside the TV, and comes out to *gulp* kill people?!" Teddie asked. He then gasped. "You think SHE'S the one causing all the murders?!"

"Ted. It's fiction." Yu sighed. "None of it is real-it's just made up to scare people,"

"Besides, none of the victims ever looked like THAT," Yosuke pointed to the screen quick, where it showed a split-second image of one of Samara's murder victims with a horribly disfigured face.

Kanji forced himself to swallow, feeling his heart pounding. _Relax. It's just a movie. It's just a movie._

…

By the third flick, the rebel was completely pale. There was spilled popcorn on the floor from when he flinched with every jumpscare, much to Yosuke's amusement- that is, before the whole bowl of popcorn was slammed on his head. "Hey!"

"This is boring," Yu sighed as the film went on. "It's focusing more on the teenagers… when are they going to watch the tape in the haunted house?"

"M-Maybe the two ghosts will become friends! You think?" Teddie asked, covered with a blanket.

"I'm going to go get more popcorn," Kanji said, as the scene was starting to get eerie.

"Why? There's enough in my hair!" Yosuke remarked, plucking a few kernels out of his locks.

*Bzzzt!*

The lights suddenly went out.

"GAH! It's Samara! She's known we've seen her tape on the movie and has come to reap her horrible vengeance!" Teddie shrieked, hiding under the blanket.

"D-D-Don't talk like that, idiot!" Kanji stammered, on the verge of pissing himself.

There came the sound of rain outside. "Ugh, the storm just knocked out the power… geez." Yosuke replied, steadying his own heart-rate.

Yu looked at the television. "I wonder if the Midnight Channel will come on during a power-out." He stated.

They looked at the clock, seeing it was five till midnight. After a few minutes, the TV did become staticky, but no one appeared. "Thank God… I've had enough surprises as it is." Kanji muttered.

Yosuke grinned. "A bit _scared_ , are we?"

Kanji shot him a glare. "N-No! Just… too much soda, that's all. It's got me all jumpy."

"We might as well go to bed," Yu said, stretching. "The movie wasn't that good anyway,"

"Yeah, I'm kinda tired myself." Teddie said, lying down on his sleeping bag.

"Alright, since there's nothing left to do." Yosuke said, lying down in his bed. Yu lied down on his sleeping bag next to it. "Goodnight- and try not to wet the bed, alright Kanji?"

"Yosuke, I swear to God if you don't shut up, I'm gonna mess up your face worse than The Ring!" Kanji snarled.

"Enough." Yu sighed. "Lets just get some sleep- we need to do some training in the TV World tomorrow,"

"Right… goodnight."

Everyone lay still, the sound of rain hitting the window.

" _Uhhhhhhh…"_

"DAMMIT YOSUKE-!"

*FWUMP!*

Teddie sat up, blinking. "Wow, Kanji… Chairs are one thing, but knocking someone out with a pillow really takes talent!"

~P4~

It was 2 AM.

Yu was asleep.

Teddie was asleep.

Yosuke… was unconscious from the fluffy projectile.

Kanji was the only one who lay awake. Every time he shut his eyes he saw the ghosts, the disfigured faces… every creak around the house made his heart skip a beat, and the rumble of thunder didn't exactly help. Dammit, he shouldn't be so scared! He's fought worse things in the TV World, for crying out loud!

He curled up tight in his sleeping bag. He looked at his duffel bag, which only held clean clothes, a box of animal crackers, and his toothbrush. He regretted not packing his sewing kit- making something would definitely take his mind off the movies for a while. Hell, he should have at least packed one of the plush toys he made- as childish as it sounded, cuddling with one would calm his nerves.

He shut his eyes tight, trying to fall asleep…

He heard a shuffling sound… was something sneaking around the room?

There came creaking… it sounded near…

There came a soft whimper, very close as if it were right in front of him…

Gasping Kanji sat up and looked around the room, but it was too dark to see anything. He began to hyperventilate, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging them, telling himself to get a grip.

Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. He began to cry out but stifled his mouth, taking in deep breathes afterwards.

Something furry touched his shoulder. "Gah!" he yelped, seeing a pair of wide eyes staring at him… though once his eyes adjusted he recognized it. "Teddie, don't do that!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," The bear asked, back in his costume.

"Y-You didn't! Just… what are you doing back in your bear suit?!"

"Oh, this? Well, I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I decided to put it back on- it helps me relax better." He gave a concerned expression. "I heard you whimpering, and you were shaking a lot… Are you feeling okay?"

Kanji blushed. He was the one making that sound?

And of course Teddie had to be the one to hear it. "I'm fine… j-just don't tell anyone, got it?" he tried to threaten, but his voice was still shaky. He couldn't keep his heart from its rapid pounding.

A paw touched his forehead as Teddie checked his temperature. "You don't seem to have a fever… but you're awfully pale. Do you feel sick or anything?"

Feeling the paw on his head was nice, yet it only made him feel flustered. "I told you, I'm fine…!" he turned away, putting his face in his hands.

"You are not! Stop lying to me and tell me what's wrong! Otherwise… I'll wake up Sensei and HE can make you tell!"

"Nothing's wrong with me! I'm-!" Kanji began to respond.. then paused. "W-Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what? Are you trying to change the subject-?!"

"Shhh!" Kanji made him freeze, both of them listening. There came the creaking sound again and he gasped, grabbing a soda bottle and holding it up in defense. "S-Something's in here…!"

Teddie looked around, shaking. "W-What is it…?" he paused, hearing the creaking sound again… then sighed. "It's okay… it's just Yosuke."

"H-Huh?"

"His bed creaks every time he moves around in it. It used to keep me up for hours when I first started living here!"

"Oh… okay…" Kanji breathed, forcing him to relax for the umpteenth time that night.

A lightbulb went off above Teddie's head. "Waaaaiiiit a minute! Kanji… are you… are you scared?"

The rebel flinched, giving the bear a cold glance. "D-Don't you start that shit too! It's bad enough Yosuke-senpai kept getting on my back about it!"

"You are, aren't you? It's all over your face! Just admit it!"

"Ted, I am NOT scared…!"

"Fine. I'll wake up Sensei-"

"Don't!" Kanji grabbed him, keeping him in place. Lighting flashed again and he flinched, gripping him tightly.

"Well, Kanji…?"

The rebel sighed. "Alright… I am scared… but, don't go laughing about it! Y-You were freaking out too!"

"I know. I just wanted you to admit it. I mean, it's better to get it off your chest rather than having two things to worry about, right? Plus, it's more courageous to say you're scared than trying to act brave… at least that's something I read in a book." He rubbed Kanji on the back. "You feel better now, don't you?"

He continued to blush. "A little…" The creaking sound came again- even though he knew what was causing it, the noise still startled him. "Frickin' movies…"

"There, there." Teddie hugged him, patting his head. "There's no reason to be afraid. The only scary things we have to deal with are Shadows, but we beat them all the time. Everything's okay now… don't be scared."

Kanji wasn't scared… but he sure as hell felt awkward. He prayed to God that his senpais were still asleep, and not secretly overhearing this conversation- even in the dark they could imagine the position he were in.

They were still asleep.

Thinking about it, the position wasn't so bad… and for the first time he could actually feel Teddie's soft fur. That and the hug was really nice, as if a giant plush-toy was holding him tight for once. He relaxed a bit, hanging on to the bear, letting him pat his head and calm his nerves.

He shut his eyes, letting out a heavy, relieved sigh, slowly drifting to sleep.

...

Teddie waited until he heard soft snoring, before easing Kanji back down onto his pillow. He gave the rebel another pat on the head. "Goodnight, Kan-chan." He whispered, lying down himself.

There came the creaking noise again. Funny, it was happening more than usual tonight. He was surprised Sensei hadn't been disturbed from his sleep!

Teddie groaned. It was going to be a long night.

He looked back over at Kanji… then scooted back over, nuzzling against him.

Might as well get comfortable, he decided. The rebel draped an arm around him in his sleep, and the bear had to smile. He loved helping out a friend.

~P4~

The morning sun shined in hours later. Kanji grunted a bit, burying his face in his pillow.

Once the events of last night sunk in, he sat up, looking over… but didn't see Teddie.

"Psst! Kan-chan! (hee hee)," came a whisper, and he saw the blonde on the other side, standing by Yosuke's bed, out of his bear costume once more; he was motioning the rebel over while trying to contain a giggle.

Kanji crawled over. "What is it?" he asked quietly.

"(hee hee) I found out what all the creaking was about…" Teddie almost snorted and had to cover his entire nose and mouth; he hunched over to try and contain a giggle-fit, pointing at the mattress.

Kanji stood up… and almost cracked.

Sometime during the night, Yu had crawled into Yosuke's bed… and the two of them were in each other's arms, oblivious to the situation they were in.

The rebel took out his phone, giving Teddie a shush-motion repeatedly as he took a few pictures. They then snuck out of the room.

"You know… w-we can't really say anything, considering last night…" Teddie said, taking a couple breaths.

"Consider it a memoir for this moment..." He then pounded his fist on the door. "Yo, Senpai! Who do we have to sleep with to get some breakfast around here, huh?" he then pressed his back against the wall, waiting. Teddie did the same.

"Zzz… what…? Ugh, Kanji keep it down, it's too-" came Yosuke's voice, which stopped abruptly.

"What's he yelling about-" Yu began to ask groggily, before he paused as well.

Kanji counted down on his fingers. 3. 2. 1…

"GAH! DUDE! WHAT THE HELL…?!"

"I couldn't sleep on the floor- there was room on your bed- what were you doing hugging me?!"

"What were YOU doing hugging me?! I'm not a girl!"

"Neither am I!"

Kanji motioned Teddie to keep walking, both of them snickering while listening as the banter went on. "Best sleepover ever…!" Teddie giggled.

"Hell yeah," Kanji agreed, patting him on the back.


	5. Bodyguard

***~*Bodyguard*~***

 _[Note: Alternate Universe, in which Teddie becomes human completely and attends school; set 1 year after the events of the game]_

Kanji stared outside the window at the falling leaves; the autumn season had arrived, the cool air calling for warm attire sooner than realized. Not that the rebel minded too much, it beat the intense summer heat- and as long as the skies remained clear of fog, he didn't mind the occasional rainstorm. He had to sigh though… ever since their adventures in the TV World had come to an end, he was still adjusting to life getting back to normal.

"Pssst! Kanji!"

…Well, almost normal.

No one exactly knew how, but when the Midnight Channel disappeared, Teddie remained in their world, completely human; from what they could guess, the former-bear spent so much time in the real world that his anatomy somehow adapted to the new environment. Perhaps since he managed to go from a Shadow to a talking bear, he could change his form to suit his desires.

Or something like that. Kanji still couldn't figure it out, and it hurt his brain every time he tried to.

The only thing he knew was Teddie was in his class.

Over the summer, he took summer classes and spent a majority of his free time in the library in order to 'catch up' and understand high school material better. Yukiko of course helped him out with his homework when he had trouble with a subject; Chie took more of a training route, helping him get in-shape for gym class and for the possibility of the blonde joining any sports teams.

Too bad he was in his sophomore class.

"Kaaanji…"

The rebel sighed. "What?" he replied quietly. Up ahead, their new homeroom teacher, Miss Fujioka, lectured on about Japanese history.

"Wanna swing by Junes after school?" Teddie asked in a hushed tone, an eager grin on his face. "A new department opened up. It's selling mangas, and toys, and other cool stuff!"

"No thanks."

"Oh. Okay…"

Miss Fujioka continued her lecture. Kanji's eyes drifted back to the window.

"Hey Kanji?"

He ignored him this time.

"Kan-chan…"

He gripped his pencil. That frickin' nickname always pissed him off…

"Kanji!"

"What?!" Kanji hissed, shooting him a glare.

Teddie flinched. "I was wondering… maybe tomorrow?"

"A-HEM." Fujioka spoke up, walking up to them. "Perhaps, since Tatsumi's social time can't wait until after class, he and his friend can stay after school and clean up the classroom,"

The class snickered. Kanji groaned, burying his face in his hands. "…so, I guess that's a 'no'?" Teddie gulped.

~P4~

During the clean-up, Kanji tried to focus on the task, though his irritation distracted him. "Stupid baka… always talking in class… getting me in trouble…" he grumbled as he wiped down desks. Teddie in the meantime swept the floor, humming to himself.

Once Fujioka claimed they've done enough, they went home; it was getting late in the afternoon. "Wanna head over to Yosuke's with me?" Teddie asked.

"I'm going home, Ted." Kanji sneered, then turned down the street. "See ya tomorrow- and from now on, save conversation for after class!"

"But… oh, okay…" Sadly, Teddie walked down the street.

Kanji looked back, sighing. He didn't like hurting Teddie's feelings, but dammit that blonde had to learn to give someone space when they were pissed!

He made it home, throwing his bag on the floor and falling onto the bed, dosing off and ready to forget this afternoon.

~P4~

The next day during lunch, Kanji sat on the rooftop; he made some potato soup to suit the cold weather. Sitting in this spot made him think of the times Yu-senpai would invite him to eat lunch up here, before he moved back to the city.

Naoto and Rise moved on as well; the young detective felt she didn't have much purpose in Inaba once the investigation ended, and the celebrity went back to show-business as well- both promising to visit every summer.

Thinking about them brought him a sense of peace. He had a large crush on Naoto, and he always looked up to Yu since he helped him overcome his past… but missing them always left a pain in his heart. If it weren't for any of his friends, he'd probably end up on the streets, in jail…

Or dead, yet another victim of Adachi's sick murder-game.

He sighed. He owed his life to everyone who ran in to save him that day- Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko…

"Kan-chan!"

*sigh* …and… of course… Teddie.

"I told you not to call me that," Kanji muttered as he ate his soup.

The blonde strolled over, sitting down beside him. "Oh! That smells good! Can I have some?" he asked immediately.

Kanji sneered. "Didn't you bring your own lunch?"

"Um… I did- but I gave it to a classmate! They forgot their lunch, so I let them have mine."

"And you two didn't split it?"

A sweatdrop appeared over Teddie's head. "Well, ah, I didn't pack very much- I didn't have much of an appetite while I was packing my lunch for today, so I just put in a sandwich, a melon soda, and some chips. Bear-ly enough for two people!"

The rebel looked at him, suspicious. "Since when don't you have an appetite?" From what he could recall, Teddie's appetite was large enough to beat his own- the guy once ate several bowls of ramen until he couldn't move!

"I, uh, guess my body is changing? Yes, that's it- since I've been human for so long, I don't have a bear-y big appetite anymore!" At its mention, his stomach growled. "Urghh… until now. Can I please have some of your soup, Kanji? Please please pleeeease?"

"Hell no. I'm still pissed at ya for yesterday- you are in no position to ask for favors,"

Teddie leaned against his shoulder, groaning. "I'm sorry for yesterday! I forgot Miss Fujioka has excellent hearing. …W-What if I make it up to you? We can go to Junes and I'll buy you anything from their fabric store! Or we can stop by the pet-store and I'll get you a hamster! Or that new store I told you about- they have cute chibi FunkoPop© figures! Anything you want! I promise!"

Kanji blushed. "Alright! Just get off me!" he took out his thermos, pouring Teddie a cupful of soup. "Here, and be careful, it's hot-"

Teddie slurped down the soup in a heartbeat… then began sputtering. "Hot! Hot hot hot!"

"I told ya!" he took the cup back, screwing it back on the thermos. He handed Teddie a carton of milk, which the blonde chugged. "Save some for me!" he reached into his box, pulling out a box of animal crackers. "I need something to wash these down with."

Teddie breathed once the burn on his tongue had been cooled. "Thanks, Kan-chan." he sighed, then smiled at him. "So… Junes, after school? I did promise."

The rebel shook his head, but gave in- Teddie was never one to break a promise. "Alright. Just for a little while."

Teddie beamed. "Alright!" he ran off. "It's a date then!"

Kanji blushed, confused at that last part. "A… date?"

He shook his head. Teddie was probably just getting used to common expressions… he hoped.

~P4~

Junes wasn't too busy that afternoon. Yosuke was busy in his department, so the most they could do was say 'Hi!' before the manager's son had to run off to assist with something. "Hey, Ted? How's come you're not working today?" Kanji asked Teddie; normally the blonde loved parading around the massive store in his bear suit.

"I can only work on weekends nowadays," Teddie sighed. "The store got a few more employees to help out over the summer, and it was either cut my hours or dock my pay due to budgets. It's okay though- I offered to take time off so I could keep up with school and other activities,"

"I see…" Kanji still wasn't convinced; Teddie loved his job at Junes. But, he wasn't going to press for questions- Ted was probably just getting tired of working so much. "So where's this new store you were telling me about?"

"This way!" Teddie dragged him over to the escalators and up to the next floor; down the walkway was a wide shop called _All Things Anime._

Stepping inside, Kanji could see what the big deal was about; on one wall were shelves full of different mangas, namely the latest volume of the most popular series; next to those shelves were a selection of DVDs; the next wall included plush toys, figurines, and other novelty items from a specific series; there were racks all around the store as well, involving T-shirts or hoodies with logos or pictures, caps on display racks, and posters displayed on the third wall behind the cash register. Beneath the register was also a display case showing replicas of a character's jewelry.

Kanji walked over to the register, looking at some keychains that were displayed at the end of the counter. However at the price his eyes bulged. 750-yen for something so small?! He looked around- anything in this store would be too pricy. "Ted, are you sure you can afford-" he began to ask.

"Oh, look at this!" Teddie exclaimed, holding up a white teddy bear. He rubbed the fabric. "It's so smooth… it feels just like my bear suit!" he raced up to the register. "I'll take it!"

"Whoa! Hold it, how much will that thing-"

"That'll be 25,000 yen, please." The cashier said.

Teddie dug into his pocket, handing forth the money. He turned to Kanji. "Did you say something, Kanji?" he asked.

Kanji gawked. "Ted! That's expensive!" he sputtered.

Teddie shrugged. "It's fine. I've been saving up my paychecks- namely after Yosuke said I couldn't use his discount anymore. I still have enough money to buy you something,"

Kanji looked around the store. The keychains, plushies, and figurines were cute, he had to admit- but he didn't want his friend blowing his hard-earned money on him, no matter how much he put up with yesterday. "Um, lets head to the fabric store first- we can come back if I don't find anything there."

"Okay!" Teddie followed him out.

The rebel looked around at the fabric department, buying some different colored polyester fabrics- they were cheap and on sale, the total coming up to only 67,000 yen. He cringed at the price, but Teddie assured him it was alright- plus, it was better than spending too much for only one thing at 'All Things Anime'.

They stopped at the food-court, getting a couple coffees as the fall air chilled them; Teddie took this opportunity to take out his new toy, hugging it. "Mm-mmm! So soft!" he exclaimed, then turned to Kanji. "So, what are you going to make with all that fabric, Kan-chan?"

"I dunno, just wanted to stock up just in case… and stop calling me that!" The rebel responded.

Teddie cocked his head. "Why don't you like being called Kan-chan?"

"It just… pisses me off, that's all." He muttered.

"Oh. Okay…" Teddie sipped his coffee, quietly.

The rebel sighed. There was no reason for him to be so gruff towards the blonde. Before he could open his mouth to apologize, though, Yosuke came running over."Oh thank God you're still here! Ted, we need your help, stat!" their senpai exclaimed. "Haruyuki got the stomach flu, and we need someone to work behind the griddle until Nomi gets here!"

"W-Why can't Nomi come early?" Teddie asked.

"He's at drama club today! C'mon, Ted, can you help out? I'll make sure you get a bonus!"

"O-Okay!" Teddie turned to Kanji. "Sorry, Kanji, we gotta cut our date short!" with that he ran off with Yosuke.

Kanji blushed again. "It's not a date, dammit!" he groused, then rubbed his face, deciding to head out.

~P4~

The rebel went to the hill overlooking town, sitting down at the table. After dropping off his stuff at home, he decided to walk around a little longer; it was still light enough out, and the cool air felt nice to him. Fall was one of his favorite seasons- granted he missed eating Topcicles in the summer heat, but wearing his jacket, snuggling under blankets, and drinking warm beverages made up for it.

However he had trouble concentrating on the feel of autumn, as his mind was still stuck on Teddie's behavior. _Something is up with that guy,_ he thought to himself. _First he keeps asking me everywhere, he's not working at Junes much- hell, he was almost hesitant to fill in today! Then there's his sudden 'loss of appetite' bullshit… What's gotten into him lately?_

He pondered and pondered until his head hurt. The part that bothered him most was Teddie constantly referring to their outing as a 'date'…

 _What if… he likes me…?_ The idea creeped into his thoughts, and he flinched at the idea. Suddenly he recalled Yosuke's comment about Teddie being his 'type'- perhaps it was the vice-versa, and the blonde considered the rebel his type. He shook his head rapidly. _N-No way! That can't be it! Teddie digs chicks! I dig chicks! I don't like dudes, and he knows it!_

He groaned and rubbed his head. If he kept overthinking it, he was going to drive himself crazy! He stood up and walked downhill, deciding to get home before dark.

On the way into town, he came across Yosuke. "Oh, hey Kanji!" his senpai said, giving a short wave as he walked his bike. "Sorry about interrupting your day with Teddie- things have been hectic at Junes lately and we really needed the help,"

"No problem… but what do you mean 'hectic'? Don't you have enough employees now?" Kanji questioned, confused.

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"Teddie said you guys got some new employees working last summer,"

Yosuke scoffed. "Yeah- ONLY for the summer. Now they only want to work weekends," he arched an eyebrow. "What else did Teddie tell you?"

Kanji explained to him about the blonde bringing up time constraints and budget cuts. "Now that you mention it, there weren't that many people working the floors as we walked around." He realized. "But… why would he say otherwise?"

"I don't know… I just know one day he said he wanted fewer hours so he could keep up with school,"

"He told me the same thing… Hold it! Wasn't Yukiko-senpai tutoring him?!"

"Y-Yeah! She studies with him in the library three days a week! And he hasn't brought up joining any clubs…"

Kanji growled in frustration. "Dammit, that pretty-boy is going to make my head explode!"

"No kidding…" Yosuke sighed. He looked at his watch, then around the street. "I wonder what's taking him? Nomi came to relieve him from his shift 20 minutes ago, and he said he would meet me here."

Kanji shrugged. "He might be checking out that new store again. I can go check,"

"Alright- when you find him, tell him I've started on my way home."

Kanji nodded, walking in the direction of Junes.

That's when he heard a noise from the alley. Cautiously, he poked his head in…

Seeing Teddie surrounded by three older boys. They were a grungy-looking bunch, like the stereotypical dropouts. They were pushing the blonde back and forth. "K-Knock it off!" Teddie snapped, swinging a punch but missed. One of the boys pried his teddy bear away. "Hey!"

"Nice bear, faggot- looks as lame as your suit!" The first bully chuckled.

"G-Give it back! I spent half my paycheck on that-!"

"Should've spent your money more wisely, prick!" The second bully sneered, shoving him against the wall. "Man, you make me sick- always working here, hanging out with Amagi, acting like you're cool shit… you're such a pain!"

The third grabbed the plush next, ended up tearing it apart and stomping on it.

"NO! Stop!" Teddie pushed through to save the jacket, but two bullies grabbed him by the arms, while the other prepared to swing a punch.

*CRASH!*

A trash-can flung through the air, crashing into the first bully. The other two released Teddie when they saw who threw it. "Oh, shit! Run! It's Tatsumi!" the third cried, and they tried to run off.

Kanji caught them by the collars, swinging and smashing their heads together. "You ain't getting off that easy!" he snarled.

Teddie watched as the rebel took on the three bullies; as tough as Kanji was, the brutes didn't have a chance and took off running, sporting black eyes, bloody noses, and broken teeth. The rebel himself sported bruises as well as a bleeding lip, but if there was anything he gained from training in the TV World it was he could handle any minor injury.

He turned to Teddie. "Who were those creeps?" he demanded.

Teddie didn't reply just yet. He was picking up the remains of the plush- what was once white and soft was now torn, crumpled, and dirty. Teddie hugged it tightly.

"Ted." Kanji knelt beside him. "What's been going on? I want the truth."

The blonde sniffled. He opened his mouth to reply but cringed, afraid to speak.

 _They threatened him to keep his mouth shut._ Kanji deduced. He wrapped an arm around his friend, guiding him to stand up. They walked to the bus-stop; along the way Kanji took out his phone, telling Yosuke that Teddie was going to hang out with him tonight; his senpai made a lewd remark, and Kanji hung up on him, too angry to feel flustered.

Once they reached the shopping district downtown, they hurried to the Textile Shop, going around back and entering; his mother was busy doing the dishes and he only hollered to her that Teddie was visiting and they would be up in his room, going up without waiting for a response. He didn't want her to see that he got into another fight.

In his room he had Teddie sit on the bed; before all else he examined the blonde for any serious injuries- kicking himself for not doing so earlier, though decided with it so dark in the alley it would be difficult to make out any bruises. "Are you alright? Anything feel broken?" Kanji asked, poking Teddie around the ribs and arms gently.

"N-No." Teddie whimpered. "But… s-shouldn't you be worried about your own injuries?"

"Tch. Those pansies barely made me flinch. This ain't nothing,"

Teddie looked at his torn plush, then his own clothes; the sleeve was torn from when those punks roughed him up. "Oh no… they tore my shirt! Y-Yosuke's gonna kill me!"

"Why would Yosuke kill you over a shirt?"

"D-Don't you remember? He said if I didn't take good care of these clothes…!" he began to tear up.

"Whoa! Hey, don't cry! You've had those clothes for over a year… Senpai probably forgot about it by now!" But the blonde continued to weep. "H-Here… I'll fix it for you."

"Y-You will…?"

"Sure- nothing to it," He looked at the remains of the plush- it was dirty and ragged, but he figured it would be an easy-fix too. "I'll fix your teddy bear, too."

Teddie shook his head. "I dunno… if I got it fixed, it would just get ruined again by those creeps-" he stopped himself.

Kanji stood in front of him. "Well, 'those creeps' will get their asses handed to 'em if they try anything again! …But first I want to know how long this has going on, and you'd better spill it!"

"I… I can't…!" Teddie covered his face with his hands. "They said if I told anyone… they would… they would…"

"They would DIE if they even tried anything!" Kanji forced himself to calm down- getting mad wouldn't help the situation. He sat down beside the blonde, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Please talk to me, Teddie. I want to help,"

Teddie sniffled. "Okay… but first, can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"Until they leave me alone… I want you to walk me home every day!" Teddie pulled his knees up to his chest. "That's… actually why I kept asking you to hang out with me lately…" he buried his face in his arms. "With you around… I knew they'd leave me alone…"

"So you wanted a bodyguard…" Of course. That explained everything. "But what about Junes? You lied about that,"

Teddie cringed, not looking at him; he could tell the blonde was red with shame. "They work there… On my breaks they kept teasing me, knocking me over while I was in my costume. They don't work weekends though."

"What about school?"

"They harass me over lunch… they keep taking mine,"

Kanji shook his head. "Ted, you should've told someone! Any of our senpais, teachers, the managers…! Fuck, you could have just told me and I'd make sure those assholes never looked at you again…!"

"But they'd kill me!" Teddie snapped, red in the face with tears flooding out his eyes. "…they said that snitches deserved to die, claiming if I was that weak they'd break every bone in my body… I didn't want my bones broken, Kanji! I'm still getting used to having them!"

"Ted, when you're in trouble, you need to tell someone. And if you're worried about your well-being, take up some self-defense. Chie-senpai could probably teach you a few things- I'll even teach ya! But never, EVER give in to a bully's demands- otherwise you really are weak."

Teddie sniffled. "I didn't want everyone to think I was weak… but you're right." He looked at his torn up plush. "I need help…" he looked at Kanji. "So… you'll walk home with me every day, won't you? Just until I'm strong enough to defend myself?"

Kanji patted him on the back. "Of course. Now c'mon, lets fix your shirt,"

Teddie nodded, taking off his shirt; Kanji gave him one of his own to wear until it was done. He then picked up the remains of the plush, sewing it up and using some stain-remover to take out the dirt. It took a couple hours, but the effort paid off.

His guest fell asleep on the futon in his room, curled up in his T-shirt. Kanji walked over and covered him up with a blanket, rubbing his head; he then crawled into his own bed, drifting off.

~P4~

The next morning, Teddie woke up to the smell of hot eggs, toast, and bacon. Entering the kitchen, he saw Kanji by the stove, scraping the last of the scrambled eggs onto a place before putting the pan in the sink. "Oh, morning. I was about to come get ya," the rebel said with a grin. "How are you feeling?"

"Good- sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep last night. I was just tired…" Teddie replied, sitting down at the table. Kanji handed him a plate as he sat down with his own, and they ate breakfast. "This is good! How did you learn to cook so well?"

"Ma taught me when I was young, and I got a knack for it. I actually used to make croquettes for Naoki-kun after school when we were little,"

"Wow… so not only can you break faces and sew, but you can cook too?" Teddie rested his chin on his palms, looking at Kanji in astonishment. "That's so…"

"So… what?" Kanji asked, bracing himself for insult.

"So… incredible! I mean, I work the griddle at Junes but I can't make meals from scratch! And those toys you make are so adorable! And yet you're still tough enough to take on biker gangs… You're a man of many talents, Kan-chan."

Kanji found himself blushing. "I-It's not much about talent- I just do what I like to do, and I keep strong just so I can stand up to guys who've got the balls to pick on me for it."

"And you'll teach me how to be that strong too, right? So I can keep doing the things I love?" He had a hopeful look on his face.

The rebel nodded, patting his shoulder. "You can count on it. …First, though, you should settle things with Yosuke-senpai. Get back to work at Junes- and tell him about the guff you've been getting from those creeps. If they don't want to end up fired and banned from the store, they'll get their act together."

"Right. I'll do that during lunch,"

"Second, now that you mention it… tell me what you want for lunch. I can make us some bento boxes, if you want."

Teddie smiled. "Yay!"

~P4~

The two got ready for school later that morning, heading out the door. Teddie sighed as he looked at his shirt- not only did Kanji fix it, but he also took the time to clean it as well. He sighed with relief, no longer worried about the care of his clothing.

"Here," Kanji handed him the teddy bear. "Don't forget this,"

"Oh, Kanji…! It looks good as new!" The blonde hugged the toy tight. "It's still so soft…"

"Yeah, well, I said I'd fix it, so I fixed it." Kanji said, walking ahead in modesty. Suddenly the blonde jumped on his back. "Oof!"

"It's wonderful!" Teddie wrapped his arms around his shoulders, nuzzling his head. "Thank you, Kanji-chan! You're the best!"

Kanji blushed, holding him up so not to fall face-first on the pavement. "Er… y-you're welcome," he looked around. "Now, get off! I don't want anyone see me playing piggyback,"

Teddie obliged, but clung to his arm, still smiling with flowers bubbling above his head. "Thank you, Kanji… for everything." He said, nuzzling against him. "I'm glad you're my bodyguard- and friend."

"It's no problem," Kanji had to chuckle. "Y'know, when you first started asking me to hang out… I figured it was because you liked me,"

Teddie looked at him. "But I do like you!"

Kanji blushed. Perhaps the blonde misunderstood. "I mean, like me the way boyfriends and girlfriends like each other, romantic wise."

The former bear shrugged. "I like you that way, too."

The rebel froze. "H-Huh?!"

"It's alright if you don't feel the same way. Yukiko-chan once told me it's alright, as long as we can still be friends. Sensei also said having a bromance-relationship is the best way to go when two people are unsure of a relationship, that way they can still be close and no one gets hurt." He looked at Kanji. "I think 'bromance' would work between us, right? I mean, there's plenty of girls out there for us to score with- we can be each other's… what did Yosuke call them…? 'Winged Men'?"

Kanji was rubbing his face, but had to smile. "Wingmen, Teddie… and yeah. Bromance works fine- but not in public!"

"Okay… Not till you're comfortable with it, right?"

He sighed, but nodded. "Right. Now c'mon, we're gonna be late."

They hurried to school; out front the three bullies from yesterday were waiting by the gates. "Hey, Ted! Did you buy another dumb bear?!" one of them called… though they fell silent when they saw who the blonde was walking with.

"No, I fixed it for him- you assholes got a problem with it, you can take it up with me!" Kanji snarled.

"Ooh, the big bad Kanji Tatsumi sews! How cute!" The second bully was bold enough to tease.

"It won't be too cute when I'm sewing your mouths shut!"

"Y-Yeah?! Just try it!" the third stammered.

Kanji cracked his fists. "That a challenge, fucker?!"

The bullies took off running, not exactly bold enough to take Kanji on in another fight. Once they were out of sight, Teddie walked up to him, smiling. "Wow, Kanji…" he whispered.

"Step One: Never take shit from anybody."

The bell rang, and they hurried to class. They sat down at their desks, just as class was getting ready to begin. "Hey, Kanji? Do you still want to hang out after school?" Teddie asked.

Kanji gave a nod this time, smiling. "Sure,"


	6. Bear Hug

***~*Bear Hug*~***

Life was shit.

That's all he had on his mind right now.

Granted, it wasn't very 'mature'- sulking because you found out your crush wasn't interested in you; despite she said so the first day you met her (or 'him', due to her disguise), then all of a sudden started dating a friend you trusted…

Okay, fuck the 'mature' part. He had a reason to be pissed!

It had started yesterday afternoon. Naoto was off work, and Kanji took the liberty to ask her if she would consider going out with him…

That is, he tried to.

Nerves crept up on him and he was having trouble getting the right words out. "Naoto- um, I was wondering… s-since we're close- I mean, as friends… ah… Would you like to… hang out sometime… just the two of us… like on a date?" the rebel stammered. Why was he so awkward all of a sudden? He wasn't like this when he first thought she was a boy!

Naoto took a sip of coffee before answering. "Kanji-kun," she said, calmly. "I am flattered by your approach, but I must decline. Don't take it the wrong way- I find you to be a great friend and supportive team-mate, and I appreciate your part in helping rescue me from my Shadow. However…" she looked at him, her eyes like stars but her gaze like ice. Beautiful but cool. "I am not interested in you in that way,"

Kanji felt like he was struck by lightning. "B-but… then why did you say you were the first time we met?!"

"I apologize- it was for my investigation. I assumed you had known something about the killer, or at least had connections to someone who did, if not knew something about the recent murder victim at the time—Saki Konishi- or if you had seen suspicious characters through the neighborhood. Considering you beat up a biker gang and had a rough reputation, I knew questioning you like a detective would not get me any clear answers, therefore I had to use a more 'subtle, friendly' route…"

She went on with her response, describing how she watched him for any flinches or gestures that would give her a hint that he knew something, leading to how 'tense' he seemed before asking about his social interactions- which, as she recalled, made him uneasy as if she were suggesting he were a homosexual, giving her a notion that he had a complex and knew little about the investigation.

He barely paid attention. His head was in a frenzy. "So… you were just using me to get info?" he muttered, fists clenched. That was the reason he hated cops- they 'pretend' to be your buddy, but once you give them what they want they cast you aside. …But it hurt more coming from Naoto. "Because of my reputation- you think I was involved with the asshole who's killing everyone!?"

Despite his outburst, Naoto stayed calm. "Once again, I apologize. Yet things have changed now- we are friends. That is why I did not hold back my honesty with my explanation. After all that's happened… well, we need to trust one another." She replied; she rested a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry if I have hurt you, Kanji-kun. Back then, it was just part of my job. But now I see you as a friend and team-mate to rely on- but nothing more than that."

Kanji sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I get it…" he muttered, turning to walk away.

"Tatsumi," He turned to face her. "Don't let this interfere with our mission, alright? I'm still counting on your help with the investigation."

"Yeah, don't worry." He feigned a grin, before walking down the sidewalk to the textile shop.

…

Once he was in his room, he let out a restrained yell of rage, slamming his fists on his desk. So she knew he was hurt by her response… she didn't know what it felt like! It felt like someone just raped his heart before stabbing it to death!

He didn't give a fuck if it were part of her investigation at the time- you don't act like you're 'interested' in someone just to get something!

And she didn't deny she thought he had a link with the killer… dammit, was his reputation that bad? Was that how everyone saw him? It was a surprise the rest of the cops didn't take him in for questioning from the start!

He sat down on the bed, letting out a breath. He couldn't stay angry at Naoto for long… like she said, they were friends now, and he was glad she was honest with him.

Even if it hurt…

He looked over at his worktable where various fabrics, threads, measuring tape, needles and pin-cushions lay near an unfinished pink crocodile plush. He decided to work on something and forget this afternoon ever happened.

Problem was he ran out of stuffing. Taking out his wallet to make sure he had enough yen, he decided to go to the fabric shop and grab a couple bags…

On the way there, he looked over and saw Naoto… walking with Yu-Senpai.

His gut twisted. Seeing them together gave him a pang of jealousy…

No, no. Getting jealous wouldn't make Naoto change her mind. Besides, she and Yu were probably just hanging out- hell, maybe she was asking HIM questions about the investigation!

Still, out of curiosity, Kanji followed them from a distance, watching as Naoto moved closer, holding Yu's hand… the two of them entering a restaurant… through the window, Kanji saw Naoto give Yu a peck on the cheek as his senpai put his arm around her…

Now was a good time to get jealous.

He wanted to storm in there, yell at Naoto, scream at his senpai, throw chairs and smash bowls-

He shook his head. No, he had promised he wouldn't do stuff like that again…

He looked away, running down the street until he was on a hill overlooking the town.

So she wasn't interested in him, but Yu suited her, huh?!

And Senpai… he should have known how Kanji felt…

He sat down, glaring out at the town. He didn't know what to think, how to act, or what to say…

There was a pain in his chest, perhaps from running so much- but it felt more like his heart had been torn to shreds.

When it got dark, he went home, but didn't get much sleep.

~P4~

Normally he went to see Senpai during lunch and ask if he wanted to hang out after school.

But he didn't want anything to do with Yu Narukami at all. He planned on skipping school, but due to mandatory attendance bullshit, he couldn't.

He planned on just going home, but Yukiko caught him by the door. "Oh, Kanji-kun. Did the others talk to you? We're heading to Junes," she said.

"Junes…? …oh, yeah." Kanji muttered; he forgot the team had to keep their game up in case the killer tried to pull something again. "No one told me yet,"

"I just got the word from Chie myself; c'mon, everyone will meet us outside in a minute,"

He stood outside with Yukiko; she was talking about ordering some new robes for the Amagi Inn, as her parents felt having a new set would help make the hotel feel more refreshing. Kanji only nodded, barely paying attention.

Yu walked out with the others. Yosuke was joking with him about something, with Chie rolling her eyes, Naoto scoffing, and Rise giggling, but Kanji only focused on Yu- his calm demeanor, his laid-back attitude… fuck, the guy reeked of stride and popularity!

Kanji turned his head. He couldn't look his senpai in the eyes right now.

They went to Junes; Teddie met up with them, as well as the mysterious Fox that always hung out with them for some reason. They entered the TV world and went to the Strip Tease for training today.

"Kanji, Naoto, Yosuke- come with me." Yu said, selecting his team.

 _Fuuuuuuck!_ Kanji thought as they entered. He wanted to object, but didn't want Naoto to think he was making it personal.

But things got personal beyond his control already.

They were on the fifth floor when it happened. They had encountered a strong enemy, and dammit Kanji was giving it his all to beat the shit out of it and protect everyone! If someone got down, he'd pound the Shadow and help them back up; if they got Confused, Exhausted, or Scared, he'd snap them out of it!

But most of these cases happened to him more than the others. At one point he got hit with Fear, and everyone was trying to keep on their feet or heal each other that he couldn't wait any longer and ran from the fight! He fucking ran like a coward! It wasn't until after the Shadow was defeated that he got his senses back and felt ashamed.

"Thank you for the healing, Hanamura-senpai." Naoto said as Yosuke cast _Media_ on the team to keep their health up. She turned to the leader. "Well done, Narukami-senpai- you really came through for us in the last second."

"It's part of being a leader," Yu said with a modest shrug. Kanji wanted to punch him in the face.

She turned to the rebel. "Kanji-kun, work on your evade. You were getting hit with a lot of ailments, and conserve your SP next time."

Kanji gawked. "S-Seriously?! I was getting Critical Hits more than the rest of you!"

"It's not about points, it's about tactics. I know you were just trying to beat the Shadows quicker, but you weren't focusing enough on your own defense."

"Yeah, and it's pretty sad when the toughest guy on the team gets hit with Fear and runs off," Yosuke said, joking lightly.

Kanji threw his weapon down in anger, pointing at Yosuke. "SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, HANAMURA!" he shouted. "You got hit with Fear twice in that fight, and I had to snap you out of it! I didn't see you doing anything to cure my ailments!"

Yosuke was taken aback, namely because this was the first time Kanji didn't address him as a senpai. "W-Whoa, take it easy Kanji! I-I couldn't do anything because I was trying to keep everyone healed! Plus, Narukami was curing ailments- yell at him!"

"I never got a chance to cure his Fear." Yu admitted. "The Shadows were almost defeated, so I decided to take them out first."

Kanji sneered. "Oh, so it's okay that YOU get to be brutal, but when I do it there's a problem!"

"Tatsumi, enough!" Naoto snapped.

"No- you shut up!" Kanji glared at her. "You're standing there, _thanking_ Yosuke for his healing, _praising_ Yu for his 'excellent skills'… but when it comes to me, you just state I can do better! Is that your problem, Shirogane?! I'm not GOOD ENOUGH for you?!"

Naoto crossed her arms. "…I thought I told you not to make things weird."

Kanji clenched his fists. "And I thought you were going to be honest with me."

"Um… is there something going on, here?" Yosuke asked, feeling a bit awkward. He nudged Yu. "(Psst! Say something, man!)"

"Kanji, calm down. You're being a jerk." Yu snapped.

"(That's not helping!)"

Kanji glared at Yu, and the leader could see pure, unadulterated hatred in his eyes. "I'M the jerk?!" he rushed towards his senpai, fist raised. "You're a fucking asshole-!"

*SLAP!*

He was smacked in the face by Naoto. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" she yelled. "Tatsumi, if you can't control yourself, we're having you replaced!"

Kanji stood up, his face aching. "…Fine. Go ahead and replace me. I don't want to see your fucking faces anyway!"

Yu took out a Goh-om, immediately transporting them to the front of the club. "Chie, come with us. …Teddie, take Kanji back to the entrance and wait for us there." He ordered. He gave Kanji a hard look. "You can stay there until your conduct improves,"

Kanji sneered, turning and storming off. "U-Um… do I have to go with him, Sensei?" Teddie asked. "Can't Chie-chan or Yukiko-chan? …Ooh, wait! Naoto! She can go with him- Kanji likes her!"

Yu stiffened. Naoto looked away. "You go with him, Teddie." Yosuke said, nudging the bear forth. "It's, ah… complicated."

Teddie sighed but rushed to catch up to Kanji.

Yosuke waited until they were out of sight, then turned to Yu. "Alright, what was all that about? I don't know which one of you pissed off Kanji first, but it was pretty clear his anger was aimed towards you guys!"

Naoto let out a heavy sigh. "I was hoping to keep personal matters out of our investigation, but I underestimated Tatsumi's emotions." She said. "Yesterday, he asked me out, but I declined; he was confused due to our first meeting, and I had to explain how it was part of my work. I thought we had left on good terms, but clearly the emotional weight crushed him."

"…Alright, but what did he mean by you being 'honest'? Did you lie to him or something?"

"I don't lie to my allies…" Naoto looked at Yu, and sighed. "…but, perhaps I did not tell him everything. I didn't mention this because I didn't want to make things awkward in our investigation, but I am in a relationship with Yu Narukami. Kanji must have found out, somehow."

"N-Naoto-" Yu stated, as he noticed shocked expressions on Yukiko, Chie, and Rise's faces.

"W-What?! You guys are dating?! When did this start?" Yosuke asked, and turned to Yu. "And how come you never filled in your wing-man, huh?!"

"HOLD IT!" Chie cried. "Yu is dating Naoto?! …B-B-But he and I are in a relationship!"

"M-Me too! We've been dating since summer!" Yukiko snapped.

"Are you kidding me?!" Rise shouted, turning to Yu. "You and I just started going steady last week!"

Yu paled. "Um… I can explain…!"

"Explain it to the heel of my foot, asshole!" Chie snapped.

"Dude, I think this would be a good time to run!" Yosuke told him. Yu followed his advice and shot off into the club, pursued by an angry group of girls. Yosuke followed.

He had a feeling he'd be doing a LOT of healing.

~P4~

While Yu was getting his ass kicked, Kanji felt like kicking someone's ass.

They made it to the entrance, and the rebel walked behind the stack of televisions, sitting down sulking.

Thus when he decided life was shit. Naoto not only thought he played a part in a murder-spree, but was also dating Yu- the only guy he could open up to!

Damn he wanted to just… break something!

Something cold touched his arm just then, and he looked over at the Fox who tapped him with its nose; it then nuzzled its head under his arm. It had been in a good mood when they arrived, otherwise it wouldn't have been so affectionate. He rubbed the top of its head, before it gave him a nod and walked off.

"Um… Kanji?"

The rebel sighed and tilted his head back, glaring up at the stage lights above. " _What_ , Ted?" he asked, stressing the annoyance in his tone to let the bear know he didn't want to talk to him- or anyone, really.

Teddie stood there, a bit timid, twiddling his paws. "I-I know you're upset… and I don't really know why, but… do you want to talk about it?"

Kanji scowled. "Even if I wanted to talk, what makes you think I'd talk to you?!"

Teddie flinched, a bit hurt. "…okay, never mind… Maybe you can talk to Sensei later-"

Kanji clenched his fists as they started to shake.

"-he's a good listener, and easy to talk to, and a real great guy-"

His teeth clenched, grinding.

"-so once he's done with training, you can tell him what's bothering you. I'm sure he'll understand and let you fight next t-"

"YOUR FUCKING SENSEI IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, DUMBASS!"

Teddie fell back, stunned by the rebel's outburst.

Kanji trudged around. "My fucking senpai is going out with a girl I liked, and didn't have the balls to tell me about it! And Naoto- she didn't want things to be 'awkward', but then I go into town and find out she's dating the leader of the team!" he kicked the railings, some boxes that were lying off to the side, a stage-light on a post… anything that was in his path.

Teddie managed to roll on his stomach, pushing himself up. "K-Kanji, calm down!"

"You wanted me to talk, so I'm talking! Senpai betrayed me, and the chick I liked played me for a dumbass!" He began punching the stack of TV's, making them rattle.

"S-STOP! You're going to break them!"

Kanji didn't hear, already throwing a punch to the center TV-

*Chomp!*

"Agh!" he snarled, seeing that the Fox bit his ankle.

"Kanji, please…!" Teddie cried, grabbing his arm.

"Fuck off already…!" Kanji shoved him, making him stumble back and slam into the railing.

"Ow…!" The bear sat on the ground, rubbing his bruised head. The Fox ran over, taking out a mysterious leaf and placing it on the bear's head, helping him feel better. It then turned and gave Kanji a glare.

The rebel stood there, breathing.

Teddie looked up at him with sad eyes, tears rolling down his face.

The bleach-haired teen gasped once his mind registered his actions. He looked at the stack of TV's that he nearly knocked over… he could have destroyed their only exit. Teddie and the Fox were just trying to keep that from happening…

And the rebel just slammed the bear against metal bars, so blinded by rage that he didn't care if he hurt someone or not.

"Teddie… I-I'm sorry!" Kanji stammered.

He took a step forth, but the bear only cringed, trembling. The Fox growled.

The teen hung his head, leaning against the televisions. "…Just send me home, Ted." It was for the best. Enough people got hurt today.

"I-I can't… Sensei said-" Teddie paused, catching himself. "…Everyone agreed that we shouldn't enter or leave the TV World alone."

"You can make an exception with me… as far as everyone is concerned, I'm nothing but a fuck-up." He walked over to the railings, looking out at the vast, foggy emptiness beyond. He clutched the bar tightly.

Yeah. That's what he was. A fuck-up.

It all dated back to his childhood. He fixed a bag for a classmate and girls started making fun of him, and his only solution was to become a hard-ass.

He got more brutal as he entered his teens, skipping school and picking fights, ending up down at the police station a number of times for poor conduct… his mother always apologizing on his behalf…

Now he was breaking shit because Naoto liked Yu instead of him. Neither of them told him… but then again, it wasn't his business, was it? Naoto did say she didn't want things to be awkward… maybe she was just trying to keep everyone focused on the investigation, and Yu understood her reasons.

It pained him, still. His Senpai, whom he always relied on, got the girl he wanted. She admired him for his skills…

Maybe that's why he blew up. Yu-senpai was so… perfect. Meanwhile Kanji, no matter how hard he worked, still had a number of flaws. He was short-tempered, quick to fight, and once his blood got boiling lost all control…

Something nuzzled underneath his arm again, only this time it wasn't the Fox, but Teddie. The bear wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "…Everyone makes mistakes, Kanji. You couldn't help it; you were heart-broken." He said, rubbing his back. "Just… let it out- without breaking stuff."

Kanji only stood there; this was the closest he'd ever been to Teddie. Normally the bear wouldn't let him anywhere near him.

"Let it out, huh…?" he whispered. "How?"

"Just… talk, I guess." Teddie replied, letting go and sitting down in front of him. "I know I'm not the first person you'd want to talk to, but I'm still willing to listen… if you want."

Kanji looked at him. The Fox strolled over, looking up at him and giving him a shrug. He sighed, slumping down and sitting in front of the bear. "…where should I start, though?"

Teddie shrugged. "The beginning?" The rebel only nodded.

He said the things he had been spouting a minute ago- without him swinging his fists or bellowing so loudly, of course. He told Teddie about how he asked out Naoto yesterday, only for her to claim she was never really interested and only saw him as a suspicious character- it wasn't until after she joined the team that she considered him a friend, but nothing more.

He walked off with a level head, and only let out an outburst when he got home, her rejection worse than he considered, he admitted. When he was walking around town later, he saw her on a date with Yu… and that's when his heart completely broke.

"It's like… she didn't even want to take a chance with me, because Yu-senpai already met all her expectations- smart, strong, cool-headed… meanwhile she looks at me and sees dumb, brutal and angry. I proved that much already." He hung his head. "I'm useless in her eyes… and Senpai probably won't let me on the team again."

A paw rested on his shoulder. "You're not useless, Kanji. …Take it from someone who had to do push-ups for a week in order to gain something! Yeah, you get angry- a lot- but everyone hits that nerve sooner or later. So much heart-ache was thrown at you in a day, and you barely had time to recuperate, so all that anger built up so quick that you couldn't hold it in anymore.

"But I do agree… Naoto shouldn't have been so brutal in her honesty. I mean, she of all people should know not to judge someone by appearances! …As for Sensei, I don't think he knew you liked Naoto- he's not the type to steal someone else's girl or (how did Yosuke put it?) 'cock-block' a friend. …I think you two need to talk about it later- once everyone's calmed down. Naoto had a point about one thing- we can't let personal matters interfere with our teamwork."

Kanji looked at him. "…How did you get so smart all of a sudden?"

"I just speak from the heart… that and I watch a lot of romance-dramas at Yosuke's house, and see things like this happen a lot on those shows… and I mean a LOT. I think it's called a 'love triangle' cliché? *ahem* But, this isn't a TV show, so I just say what I believe needs to be said. Your anger got out of control, but I blame the heart-break." He patted him on the back. "It'll be okay, Kanji… you'll find someone who likes you for you- just like how everyone likes Yu for Yu, hee hee!"

Kanji smirked at the joke, but looked at the ground, solemn. The pain in his chest had lightened, but it still wouldn't go away. "…so this is heart-break, huh? What do you think I should do now, just brush off everything?"

Teddie shook his head. "You can't force it to go away by pretending to be happy, but you can't let it linger by being angry or depressed. You just have to take it one day at a time."

The rebel breathed, shutting his eyes. One day at a time, huh? That was going to be difficult… especially since he'll have to face Yu and Naoto on a regular basis and get used to the fact that they're together.

He'll get over it, sure… but it's still gonna be tough, and the thought made his chest tight. "… it still hurts, though…" he admitted quietly. "N-Not to sound like a wimp, but..." his hand found its way to his chest, over his heart, making a clutching motion. "… yeah, it hurts…"

Again, Teddie wrapped his arms around him, turning him so that the teen was facing him, patting him on the back. "Just let it out, Kanji… let it out." He soothed.

The teen hugged him tightly, his hands gripping his soft fur… it felt nice, soft like polyester but smooth like satin. Teddie held him tight, and the teen found himself resting his head on top of his.

The pain in his chest was still tight… he was holding his breath, worried that if he breathed something would burst… his eyes shut tight…

He ended up burying his face in his friend's fur, letting out a short gasp as he couldn't hold it in any longer; tears squeezed out, and were soon running down his cheeks. Fuck, he didn't want to do this!

Teddie only continued to rub his back, not making any witty comments about the tough teen 'getting his fur wet' or calling him 'soft'. Of course, that wouldn't make sense- the bear had his share of tears shed before.

Kanji held him tighter, taking short breaths as he continued to sob. He then turned his head to the side, keeping it rested on Teddie's head still, as he needed air after having a face-full of fluff; he sniffled, the last of his tears running down his face, and he took a long breath, just hanging on to his friend.

Teddie looked up at him. "…Better?" he asked in a whisper.

"…Yeah." Kanji admitted. Now that he got everything out of his system- the yelling, the confession, the tears- he felt calmer. His chest didn't feel tight, though the pain was still there… but it was easy to ignore as he held Teddie, his fur so soft that it was impossible to feel angry. He chuckled as a pun came to mind. "You really know how to give a good 'bear-hug', Ted."

Teddie beamed. "Well, who else would be an expert?"

The two pulled out of the hug, as Kanji wiped his eyes. "Um… d-don't tell anyone about this, okay? I don't want anyone pinning us as a pair of sissies,"

"Yosuke makes fun of my interest in romantic dramas already- so we'll take it to our graves." Teddie said with a wink. He stood up, looking at the TV's. "…Do you still want to leave? I can just tell the others you weren't feeling well and had to go home."

Kanji shook his head. "I'll be fine now. Thanks,"

The bear grinned. "What are bear-friends for?"

The Fox yipped just then, and the two looked over, seeing that the group was returning…

And they could sense the bitter aura coming off the girls from a mile away. If this were anything like a cartoon, they would probably be seeing smoke coming out of their ears, their eyes would be red and they'd have fangs!

"Whoa…! What happened?" Teddie asked. As mad as the girls looked, he ducked behind Kanji. "You girls don't look too happy…"

"I assure you, we're NOT."Naoto said… and she sounded more pissed now that she had been with Kanji. "Teddie, could you send us back to Junes? We all need some time AWAY from the guys."

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck, feeling responsible. "…was it because of what I said?" he guiltily asked.

"Oh no- it's what Narukami DIDN'T say!" Chie fumed. "That son of a…! I can't believe him!"

Teddie looked at all the girls. "W-What did Sensei do…?"

Yukiko sighed in irritation. "Teddie, word of advice- if you ever want a girlfriend… Just. Choose. ONE." She stated clearly.

Kanji got the message. "Wait… so senpai was a player?! Geez!" he said, astounded. He looked at the girls. "Um… are you all going to be okay?"

"Don't worry… we got it all out of our system." Rise sighed, but looked at him intensely. "Though it would really help if you punched his face in, and broke his arm, and ripped off his-!"

"Rise! Not in front of Teddie…!" Yukiko whispered, as the bear still had a stunned look on his face.

"So… um… okay, Girl's Day at Junes coming right up! W-We'll be out once Sensei and Yosuke show up!" he said, helping the girls through the TV.

Naoto was the last to leave. She looked at Kanji. "…I guess you think I deserve this," she muttered.

Kanji shook his head. "…No one deserves to have their heart broken." He replied. He looked at Teddie, then back at her. "Just talk about it and let everything out."

Naoto looked at him. "Are you trying to be charming?"

Kanji shook his head. "I didn't mean with me! …I meant with senpai. Like you said, we can't let things like this interfere with our work- Yu-senpai may be a player, but he's still someone you can rely on. He probably never said anything because he didn't want anyone to get hurt… all you girls liked him, and he didn't want to break any hearts- he must have had trouble saying 'no'."

"Yeah- you're all great girls! I'd have trouble deciding who to date, too!" Teddie said. "But I guess you have a point- it's not nice to lead someone on like that."

The junior detective looked at the ground. "…no, it's not. I'll need some time to think- but from now on, our relationship is strictly professional. The case comes first," she then went through the TV.

Kanji looked at Teddie. "Did you have to say that? 'Lead someone on'…?" he asked, blushing.

"I told you before- I say what I believe needs to be said. …I think everyone needs to start doing that- being honest with each other. Even Sensei needed help understanding that!"

Kanji looked over, his eyes wide. "…I think he needs more help than that!"

Up ahead, Yosuke was dragging a beaten-up Yu… who looked like he suffered third-degree burns, frostbite, a couple dark and light strikes, a few kicks to the face, some punches to the stomach… and his gonads probably suffered the most, Kanji could guess.

"Hey! Get that Fox over here!" Yosuke called. "I'm out of SP, and Yu's in bad shape!"

Teddie turned to Kanji. "…Are you still going to punch him?"

"Why? I think the girls did more damage than I would!" Kanji replied. He turned to the Fox. "Hey, could we use a leaf?"

The Fox yipped… then jumped through the TV, nose up in the air as if it had no sympathy for Yu.

"Um… I'll heal Sensei." Teddie offered, hurrying over to Yosuke and Yu.

Kanji nodded. "Yeah… you're good at it." He admitted quietly, before crawling through the TV next.

He would talk to his senpai about earlier… once he was conscious.


	7. The Jacket

***~*The Jacket*~***

 _[Alternate Universe: Teddie is a student]_

"Hey, guys! Check out my new jacket!"

Yu, Chie, Yukiko, Rise, Naoto, and Kanji were on their way to school when they heard Teddie's voice; the small blonde was rushing up to them wearing a fuzzy red jacket, Yosuke trailing behind him. "Nice, Teddie! Where did you get it?" Rise asked.

"It was on sale at Junes," Yosuke replied, then spoke quietly to Yu. "He bought it Saturday afternoon- hasn't taken it off all weekend."

"Isn't it great? It's so soft!" Teddie said, hugging himself. "Perfect for this fall weather, right?"

"I'll say. Ooh, it is soft," Yukiko said as Teddie let her feel the sleeve.

"C-Can I feel?" Kanji asked.

"Hmmmm… no." Teddie replied, skipping ahead leaving the rebel to brood.

"Man… what a pain." Yosuke sighed. "He's been hyped about buying that thing throughout his shift at Junes, and won't shut up about it now."

"I'm sure he'll ease down. You know how Teddie is- he gets excited about something, then after a while it just becomes another usual thing for him." Chie said.

"He had better be careful at school, though." Naoto responded. "Some of the students tend to be quite tenacious towards behavior like this."

"She's right… some of the kids in my class are pretty harsh." Rise muttered.

"No kidding- they see Teddie going on about a fuzzy jacket, and they'll be tormenting him 'til Graduation!" Kanji sneered.

"Maybe. Keep in mind, Teddie's pretty popular- chances are, every first-year will want to wear a fuzzy jacket after seeing him wearing one." Yu spoke up.

"Ugghh, I hate when that happens… I remember when I wore a pink overcoat one day. Suddenly all the girls in class wanted one too, and I come in two days later to see some of them wearing jackets by the same designer! It was so annoying!" Rise groaned.

"Lets hope it doesn't go overboard then," Chie sighed.

~P4~

A few days later… Teddie was still at it.

Every day he wore the jacket to school. Every day he would talk about it- before class, after class, during lunch breaks… geez, the only time Kanji never saw him wearing it was during gym class, but even then the rebel figured the blonde wore it underneath his uniform.

Sure some of the other girls thought it was cute, some of them blushing when Teddie would let them feel the sleeve, giggling as they flipped the hood over his head in play. But after some time even they seemed to be getting bored with this 'trend' of his.

And he had a fear that a few of the 'tenacious' ones were more than fed up…

One day Kanji had to confront him about it. "You've got to stop flaunting that jacket around," he told him sternly on the roof during lunch. "It's starting to get annoying!"

"I can't help it, it's so awesome!" Teddie replied, hugging himself once more. "It's so soft and fluffy… it's like my bear costume, only easier to put on and carry around!" he sat down, looking up at the clouds that passed over the sky. "Ever since I came to this world, I've grown to understand humanity a little more- wearing this jacket reminds me of who I am, and who I started out as."

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, still… you have to keep a low-profile about things like this. People are going to get pissed and shut you up themselves sooner or later!"

Teddie scoffed, walking away. "I think the only one who wants to do that is YOU," With that, he left.

Kanji groaned. "That idiot…"

...

Sadly, the rebel's prediction proved to be true, two days later.

Only much worse than he considered.

A few punks around the school were more than pissed about Teddie's talk about his jacket- hell, they abhorred the former-bear since he first transferred! The way the girls fawned over him, the way he was easily excited by simple shit, the way he would parade around at Junes in that dumb bear-suit…

It was time they taught the 'so-called prince charming' a lesson about real life.

They planned it all carefully; it was Teddie's turn to clean up after class today, so he would be leaving later in the afternoon. No one would be walking home with him today.

They caught him by the shoe lockers…

They drug him to the boy's bathroom. Punches were swung, insults were shouted- but Teddie could barely focus as they shoved him around, knocking him to the ground in a daze.

They then pried off his jacket, tearing the sleeves and hood. One of them took out a lighter next, burning holes into the back of it before throwing it into the toilet to 'help extinguish the flames'. Teddie cried out, tears running down his face, but was silenced when he was slammed into the wall.

He lay still, blood leaking out his nose. "Don't think you're hot shit, retard." One of his offenders sneered before kicking him once more in the stomach, leaving with the others.

…

Kanji was with Naoto in the library during this time. Their senpais were busy with their after-school jobs, and Rise had to work at the Tofu shop. With exams coming up in a week, the two decided to have a study session together.

It took a little longer than the rebel figured- he was used to studying with Yu-senpai. With Naoto, he felt so flustered he couldn't concentrate- how many times had the Detective Prince corrected him with a word problem? Ten?

" _The School will be closing in ten minutes. Please return home."_ Came the announcement.

Kanji sighed. "Sorry I'm not much of a study-buddy," he muttered.

"Nonsense. Helping teach you a few things helped me re-learn the material," Naoto replied, giving him a smile.

"Um… okay, whatever you say, Naoto-san," He felt himself blush at her smile. She was cute- though he wouldn't admit that aloud, figuring she'd get pissed easily.

They were on their way down the stairs when Naoto paused. "Do you hear that?"

Kanji listened. A heavy sobbing could be heard echoing down the hall. "It's coming from the bathrooms," he said.

The Detective Prince forged ahead, determined to investigate. However she came to a problem. "It's in the men's bathroom… You'll have to go in and check it out,"

"What? Why me?"

"Well, you're a man, aren't you? Unless it's an emergency, I would lose credibility violating a basic rule about public restrooms,"

Kanji sighed, but entered. As he went in his gut wrenched as the sobs sounded all too familiar, coming from a stall. "T-Teddie!"

His heart tightened as his blood automatically boiled. His friend had bruises all over, his face was bleeding, and tears were flooding out of his eyes. He was hunched over a toilet, and Kanji saw the familiar red fabric clogging the bowl. "M-M-M-My jacket… they… they d-d-destroyed it…!" he was sobbing so heavily he could hardly speak.

He knelt down, grabbing Teddie by the shoulders. "Who did this to you?!"

The blonde flinched, as if just noticing the rebel… and covered his beaten face with his hands, continuing to cry.

Kanji stood up, guiding Teddie to do the same. Reaching down he pulled the ruined jacket out of the trash-can, wringing it out. "I-I can fix this, if you want…"

Teddie paused in his tears, then grabbed the jacket and threw it into a wastebin. "Fuck that jacket! I hate it now!" he screamed, much to Kanji's shock (he never heard Ted drop the F-bomb before!). He kicked the bin before turning and gripping the sink, staring into the mirror for a moment… then hanging his head low.

Kanji waited for another response. After a minute, he walked over. "Teddie…?"

"You were right…" the blonde whispered. "I should have listened."

Carefully, Kanji rested a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. Lets get you home."

…

They exited the school building; upon seeing Teddie, Naoto immediately demanded answers. Kanji only told her what Teddie said. "Do you remember what they look like? With a proper description, we can narrow it down and get them expelled. This sort of behavior will not be tolerated!" the young detective said with promise.

"I dunno… one of them had brown hair, wore a dark jacket…?" Teddie muttered. His once bright-blue eyes were clouded with sorrow. His hair was a mess, his skin was pale, and he didn't even attempt to wipe the blood off his face.

Kanji took care of the latter, handing him a handkerchief; when the blonde didn't take it, the rebel began wiping his face himself. "Hold still. …'swear to God, I'm gonna mess those guys up so bad, the killer would shit himself…!" he mumbled. Once he was done he stuffed the fabric back into his pocket. "Just point them out Monday, Ted. We'll handle 'em!"

Teddie only sniffled, leaning against his arm as they walked. "Just take me home, please." He murmured, his tone soft but bitter.

Kanji was about to press, but Naoto rested her hand on his other arm. "He's too shaken up to speak. Give him some time," she whispered.

He sighed, but obliged. He had to calm down if he wanted to help Teddie.

…but damn it was going to be a dark day for the guys who hurt his friend.

~P4~

They dropped Teddie off at Yosuke's house, explaining the situation to their senpai. "Dammit, I was worried this would happen… Thanks guys, I'll take it from here." Yosuke replied, going into the house.

Kanji walked Naoto home, neither of them speaking much about the situation. The rebel's mind was clouded with concern, anger, and sympathy for the blonde. It reminded him of elementary school, when those girls made fun of him…

At home he barely slept; when he managed to drift off, his dream consisted of him encountering silhouettes of Teddie's attackers, breaking one's arm while slamming another's head into the wall, swinging one of their bodies to knock out a third, until he was surrounded by unconscious, bleeding bodies, Teddie's sobs echoing throughout the violent vision.

…

When he woke up, the first thing he did was call Yosuke, asking about Teddie. "Nice timing. Your girlfriend just called." His senpai said, trying to force a lighthearted tone, but gave up immediately. "Teddie's still in bed… he's taking the day off from work… I asked him if he wanted a new jacket, but he claimed it would probably just cause more trouble."

Kanji called Naoto next, though the detective only said the similar thing. "I tried to talk to him to see if he was willing to give a description, but he claimed he couldn't focus. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll be able to say something," she said. She asked if he wanted to hang out today, but he declined.

He knew Teddie wouldn't lighten up so quick… He had seen how he got when he was distressed… God forbid his Persona would revert back to his Shadow because of those assholes…

He looked at his desk, then went down to the textile shop. Despite the fabric was wet at the time, he could still pinpoint the texture it had- even from looking at it, he could tell how soft it was.

Teddie loved that jacket… it reminded him of his bear costume… of himself and how he overcame his fear of having no identity.

As Kanji sorted through the fabrics, finding the right textures and colors, he thought about the bear's identity. _He's cute… really annoying at times, but still cute. He likes to make bear-puns and other jokes. He loves Topcicles- he ate 5 with me, but I had one before him so I still won. He wants to score with Chie and Yukiko. He loves to crossdress… and is surprisingly good at it… He loves working at Junes. He looks up to Yu senpai. He counts on all of us. He saved all of us! He never breaks a promise._

Thinking about all these aspects as he worked, it was no time before his project was finished.

~P4~

It was 6:30 AM that Monday morning. Despite Yosuke's best efforts, Teddie wouldn't get out of bed. He tried coaxing him with a hot breakfast, offering to share a lunch with him, and claiming they could hang out with the rest of their friends anywhere he wanted after school… but the little blonde was too depressed.

Yosuke eventually decided to leave him be. "If you need anything, call Yu alright?" Yosuke said, leaving his phone for Teddie to use. He then gave a half-hearted smirk. "But no prank calls, alright?"

"…'kay," Teddie whispered. He heard the Junes heir sigh before leaving.

The house was quiet. The Hanamura parents had left early for their jobs, and with Yosuke gone, Teddie was alone with his thoughts.

He was overwhelmed with despair. It wasn't just because he lost a jacket, but the reason behind it.

Thinking about it, he was rubbing it in a bit, wasn't he? But he wasn't trying to be a jerk, he just really loved that jacket! And the attention he was getting was nice- after living alone for God knows how long before meeting the Investigation Team, it was a wonderful feeling!

But he never paid attention to other people's feelings during so. Thinking about it, the girls who normally fawned over him did seem to grow bored with it after a while, and some of his classmates did look aggravated every time he brought it up… but no one ever said anything. Why did they have to drop 'hints' rather than just say he was getting annoying, like Kanji?

Kanji…

He was pretty forward about it… he was actually just warning him to tone it down. But what did Teddie do? Scoff and give him the cold shoulder, thinking the rebel was just getting pissed like he usually does…

 _I'm such an idiot…_ Teddie thought, tears forming in his eyes for the umpteenth time that weekend.

There came a knock at the door. He ignored it.

The knocking repeated. Then it turned into pounding.

Then Yosuke's phone rang. Teddie looked at the Caller ID.

It was Kanji.

Teddie was hesitant. Yosuke would probably be peeved if the blonde took his calls, but on the other hand it could be important. He answered it. "…Hello?" he said, his voice a little hoarse.

" _T-Teddie…? Why do you have senpai's phone?"_ Kanji asked on the other line.

"He left it with me, just in case I needed anything… He just left for school, so whatever you need you can still catch up to him-"

" _Never mind that. I'm at the door- come open it,"_

"W-Why?"

" _Just do it! …I-I mean, it's important. I need to drop something off,"_

Teddie was skeptical. He never recalled Kanji borrowing anything from Yosuke, or the cyclist requesting anything from the sewing expert. Nonetheless, he knew Kanji would only grow more irritated if denied. "Alright, hold on." He hung up and climbed out of bed, shivering a bit from the sudden exposure to the cool air.

Once he opened the door, Kanji made his way in, carrying something wrapped up in brown paper. "What did you need to drop off…?" Teddie asked, closing the door behind him.

"It's… for you." Kanji said, setting it on the counter. He sat down in a chair, as if waiting for the blonde to open it.

Curious, Teddie sat down and opened it… and his eyes widened.

It was a soft, polyester jacket with a softer, velvet interior. It was mostly red, but with blue cuffs; a white front with fuzzy red balls sewn by the zipper; and a blue hood with a yellow trim… and little plush bear-ears attached.

"W-Where-Where did you get this…?" he gasped, astounded.

"I made it…" Kanji replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted to cheer you up, so…"

Tears formed in Teddie's eyes once more. "W-Why…?! I-I-I deserved what happened to me…!" he set the jacket down. "I don't deserve a sympathy gift from the way I acted-"

Kanji pounded his fist on the counter, silencing the former bear's sobs. "Shut up! It wasn't your fault!" he shouted. He took a heavy breath, letting out slowly as he rubbed his face, thinking for a moment. "You were a pain in the ass, yeah… but you didn't deserve to get ganged up in the bathroom! You didn't deserve to lose something you loved! You don't deserve to feel like shit just because something made you happy! Sure you never shut up about that jacket, but you never bragged about being better than everyone with it on or tried to make it a hot trend or shit like that! You just wore it cuz you loved it- and you loved it because it was like a part of you!"

Teddie sat there, only listening. He sniffled a bit, tears still brimming in his eyes.

The rebel looked at the jacket. "Take it from someone who was bullied out of loving something… Girls made fun of my knack for sewing! GIRLS, Teddie- not a buncha wannabe tough-guys, but girls who loved dolls, makeup, and other cute things… but they thought it was weird that a BOY liked those things! They picked on me because I fixed another girl's backpack, and she ended up crying too- then I ended up quitting, started picking fights and other stuff I figured real men did, all because some bitches made me feel like shit for something that made me feel good…"

He gripped Teddie by the shoulder. "…but then I met you guys… and I realized it didn't matter what other people thought- I love sewing. I like cute things. They can call me gay, weird, lame- whatever the fuck they want, I don't care! The only thing I hate now is when someone I care about gets hurt… and you can bet I'm going to kick ass two-ways from Sunday when I find those creeps- but right now, I want to help you feel better… so I made you something."

He handed the jacket back to Teddie, the blonde looking at it, still sniffling.

"Just… don't focus on what other people say, alright? If it makes you happy, then it's fine."

"K-Kanji…" Teddie hugged the jacket, tears rolling down his face. Kanji held out his arms, letting the blonde lean against his chest as he held him close.

Once the blonde calmed down, they both stood up. "I, uh, gotta get to school now… mandatory attendance 'n' stuff…"

"O-Okay… G-Gimme a sec, and I'll walk with you," Teddie hurried back to the room, throwing on a pair of jeans, clean shirt, and grabbing Yosuke's cell-phone. He then threw on the jacket… finding it was a little big, but it only made it feel comfier.

He and Kanji then hurried down the street. "So… you like the jacket?" the rebel asked.

"Like it…?" Teddie questioned… then rushed up and jumped on his back, hugging him around the neck. "I LOVE IT!"

"Gack! Teddie! Get off!" Kanji staggered to keep his balance, yet the blonde hung on. He looked around, worried other people would see the piggyback-jacking.

Teddie nuzzled against his hair, flowers bubbling over his head. "You really are a great friend, Kan-chan. Thank you,"

Kanji blushed a bit. "D-Don't get so sentimental, we're out in public for crying out loud!"

"But I thought you didn't care what other people thought?"

"This is a completely different matter, dammit!"

"Well… it makes me happy, so I don't care."

"TED…!"

"Oh! …I see you're feeling better, Teddie-kun." Came a voice and Kanji froze dead in his tracks, seeing Naoto walking forth. "I like your new jacket,"

"Thanks! Kanji made it for me!" Teddie beamed.

Naoto looked up at Kanji, smiling. "That was nice of you."

"Y-Yeah, well, if I knew he wouldn't get off my back about it…" Kanji muttered. "Wait… what're you doing here? You're normally the first at school!"

"I was going to drop by and check on Teddie; Yosuke-senpai said he was staying home sick when I saw him, so I was concerned." She looked up at Teddie. "…How are you feeling?"

"A lot better- and I'm ready to point out the guys who ganged up on me." Teddie replied, then held onto Kanji tighter. "You'll rough them up good, won't you Kan-chan?"

"…keep calling me 'Kan-chan' and someone ELSE is going to get roughed up…" the rebel sneered.

"I do not believe violence is the answer. …However, I would suggest someone walk home with you every day once we make a report. Brutes such as those do not tolerate 'squealers' very well." Naoto stated. She looked at Kanji. "…I recommend Kanji-kun should take the position- since you never have anything planned after school, and most of the students already see you as fierce, you would be perfect."

Kanji sighed. "Fine… but I do get to beat them up if they try anything, right?"

"If the situation calls for it, yes."

"Alright!" Teddie exclaimed, hugging Kanji around the neck again. "With you around, no one's gonna mess with me, Kanji!"

"Yeah, yeah, just do me a quick favor first,"

"What?"

"GET OFF MY BACK!"

~P4~

The day went by slowly… mainly because Teddie couldn't stop bringing up his 'custom made' jacket. "You girls like my jacket? Kanji Tatsumi made it!" he said as he showed it to his peers.

"Wait, Kanji made this…? That's weird," one girl scoffed. "Didn't think a brute like him would be into something so… feminine."

Teddie paused, remembering the story Kanji had told him, and gave her a heated glare. "Well FINE! I WAS going to ask him if he'd like to take requests for you lovely ladies, but if you think it's too weird…"

"N-No, it's cool! Hey, can he do skirts? Cuz I saw this one Rise was wearing the other day, but it looked super expensive…" another girl piped up.

"Oh, I heard he makes stuffed animals too! Can you see if he'll make me a duck? My little sister's birthday is coming up and I want something special," a third girl said.

"Alright… BUT, you girls have to keep this between us. I can't have someone stealing away my personal tailor," Teddie coaxed.

"We promise!" all the girls exclaimed.

In the back of the class, Rise shook her head. "Oh, brother…" she sighed… and prayed to God Kanji wouldn't be taking any 'Risette'-based requests.

…

Eventually, the bullies from earlier noticed their victim was flaunting a new style, and caught up with him at the gates late afternoon. "Didn't we teach you a lesson last time, faggot?!" one of them snarled as they began to surround him.

"Teach him WHAT, asshole?"

The bullies froze, then saw Kanji storming over. "Shit, it's Tatsumi!" one of them gasped.

Another bully scoffed. "Yeah right… Your little friend here spilled the secret, Mr. Seamstress!" he sneered, shoving him. "Not so tough after all, are you, with your needlepoint and plush toys and fashion design-"

*CRACK!*

A fist contacted the [very stupid] bully's mouth, knocking out a few teeth. "Doesn't mean I can't kick your asses!" he snarled as he lunged.

The bullies tried to fight back, but- considering they were taking on a guy who throttled a biker gang- decided they didn't want to spend the rest of the semester recovering in a hospital, and they took off.

"Either leave my pals alone or get bent, fuckers!" Kanji shouted at them as they fled. He then turned to Teddie, grinning. "Sorry I'm late. I was studying with Naoto,"

Teddie looked around. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Over here," Naoto stepped out from around the corner, a little camera in her grasp. "I recorded the whole thing. With this evidence, those vandals will be facing suspension for their assault. Best of all, they won't consider you a squealer if someone else tells the faculty, so you won't need a bodyguard,"

"Oh…" The blonde looked at the ground, a bit disappointed.

Kanji looked at him, then scoffed. "You kiddin'? He ain't safe 'til those punks are long-gone… and don't forget about the killer! It would be stupid to walk home alone until the case is solved!"

Naoto gave him a smile, catching on. "…Very well. In that case, I shall join in the escort. Just in case you need another witness if those brutes try to claim you started the fight."

"Yeah! And you can cuff 'em too!" Teddie exclaimed, putting his arms around the two as they walked home. "I'm gonna have the coolest entourage EVER! …Oh! We should have Chie-chan walk with us too! She hates bullies! And Yukiko could set us up with rooms at her Inn in case we need to stay somewhere else if someone is following us, and Rise is a celebrity so no one can touch her without getting arrested so she can join too, and Yosuke can hit us up with supplies from Junes in case we need 'em- OH! And Sensei! We can't have an entourage without Sensei!"

Kanji rolled his eyes. "They're bullies Ted, not a bunch of spy assassins!"

Teddie skipped ahead. "Still we can't be too careful, can we?"

"Yes, Kanji-kun. We should take precautions," Naoto said, reaching and holding Kanji's hand. "Just in case."

Kanji blushed crimson. "Uh… okay… if you say so…"

Teddie looked back at them, then smirked. "Oh, and one more thing guys…"

"What?"

He raised a finger to his lips, giving a wink. "No making out on the job~"

This time, both the Detective Prince and rebel blushed. "TEDDIE!" Kanji then took chase.

"Whoa! Hey! I'm just kidding! …We can ALL smooch on the job if you want!"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?!"

Naoto sighed, hurrying to follow before this got out of hand… and before the whole town heard Teddie.

All this because their friend got a new jacket.


	8. Special Favors

***~*Special Favors*~***

" _Kanji? …Kanji! Psst!"_

The rebel opened his eyes, looking over at the blonde sitting next to him. No matter how many years went by, Teddie always felt it necessary to disturb him from his mid-class nap.

The two were in their third-year history class, their teacher having told the students to read chapter 27 while he had to make a run to the faculty office- which was a good thing, as the two would have been in trouble right this second for disturbing class.

"Nngh… what is it, Ted?" Kanji groaned, keeping his head rested on his book, his naturally-dark hair draping over his face.

"I was wondering if you wanted to do lunch with me today. There's something I want to talk to you about," Teddie replied, his bright blue eyes filled with eagerness.

Kanji sighed. Ever since their senpais had graduated, Rise and Naoto moved, and Nanako started hanging out with more friends, it seemed he was the only one the former-bear wanted to hang out with.

…

Then again, he didn't hang out with anyone else, either. Ever since the incident in the TV World, it felt no one else could replace his friends on the Investigation Team. Once in a while he would hang out with his old childhood friend, Naoki, but he was always busy at his family's liquor store.

The same went for Yosuke, Yukiko and Chie- they were all busy with their own jobs, and since the end of the Midnight Channel Murder Case, they grew content with living their every-day lives.

He could understand. He worked at his family's textile shop after school, and at least they had days off to get together once in a while.

When they could.

He looked over at his friend, who was eagerly awaiting an answer. "Sure," Kanji responded.

"Great!" Teddie beamed. "We can share my food- I made steak skewers,"

The rebel nodded, before resuming his nap.

…

Lunch was two classes after history. As promised, Teddie split his steak-skewers; Kanji himself made potato-soup, as the winter season began its icy chill. Rather than sitting on the rooftop in the freezing weather, the two sat in the empty gymnasium at the top of the bleachers, watching as two other students spent their lunch-period shooting hoops.

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Kanji asked.

Teddie squirmed, as if ready to burst with excitement. "I met someone!" he said, unable to contain a giggle.

The rebel paused mid-bite, giving him a curious look. "Met someone…?"

Teddie nodded eagerly. "Her name is Mia Takimaru. She's in Class 3-2. We met at Junes, and went out on a date!" the blonde was smiling, flowers appearing over his head. "I bought her dinner and we went to a movie, and she said we can go out again!"

"Oh. Well, congratulations, Ted… but why did you wait until today to tell me? Normally you brag about sweeping girls off their feet on a daily basis,"

"This was before I met Mia-chan (hee hee, that's my nickname for her!). She says she's very shy about relationships, and doesn't want her parents to find out just yet because they're super-strict, so she only wants to meet in private- and she wants me to keep our dates hush-hush. …But, I had to tell you, since we're good friends and I can trust you with a secret," he gave a sweet grin.

Kanji pondered a bit. "Mia Takimaru… I think I used to have a class with her once, before I started cutting class."

"Anyway, Kanji-san…" Teddie shifted. "I… I want to ask you a favor,"

Kanji arched an eyebrow. Ah, so this was probably what their lunch-meeting was really about. "What is it?"

"Well… Mia-chan is a really pretty girl, and I want to look my best when taking her on dates. I was wondering, since you're such a great tailor-" (he was kissing up- this had to be big) "…could you make me a nice suit? N-Nothing too high-class! Just something simple, yet elegant."

"Tch. Why can't you buy something like that at Junes?"

Teddie pouted. "Because they overcharge on their suits- even with my employee discount, I couldn't afford one!" he clasped his hands together in a begging-motion. "Pleeeeeeeaaaaase Kan-chan? I'll pay you back!"

The rebel sighed, pushing up his glasses a bit, but had to smile- he did find it cute how Teddie was willing to beg. "Okay. Swing by the shop and I'll get your measurements, and you can pick out the colors."

"YAY!" Teddie hugged him. "Thank you so much, Kanji!"

Kanji blushed, pushing him away with his elbow. "Alright, alright! Don't get weird on me," he picked up his steak-skewer. "Now lets hurry up and finish our food before lunch ends, huh?"

"Oh, right!" Teddie resumed his meal, though had a dreamy look in his eye as he ate- daydreaming about the next time he'd go out with Mia again, Kanji figured.

The rebel didn't eat too fast, though… something about the whole thing made his stomach feel uneasy. He shook his head, focusing on getting through the rest of the day.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teddie walked home with Kanji at the end of the day; true to his word, the rebel got his measurements and began working on a dark-brown suit-jacket, matching pants, and a blue shirt. "How much will this all cost?" Teddie asked after Kanji began sewing.

"From the measurements, choice of fabric, and minor accessories… around 157,090 yen." Kanji calculated. "It'll be ready by tomorrow, so you don't have to stick around and wait."

Teddie gawked. "T-Tomorrow? But my date is tonight!"

Kanji did a double-take, stunned. "The fu- why didn't you ask me sooner?!"

Teddie rubbed his arm. "You're so good at sewing I figured you'd be done in a couple hours…"

Kanji sighed, but stood up and walked over to a display rack; he found a dark-blue overcoat and handed it to Teddie. "Here, this is about your size; it's been on the rack for months, so I'll only charge you 2000 yen for it. It should go well with your white shirt and black pants- casual, but classy. You can wear the other outfit for another date,"

Teddie grinned, handing Kanji the money and taking off. "You're the best!" he exclaimed as he ran out, passing Mrs. Tatsumi as he did.

"Oh, was that Teddie? I didn't know you were having friends over," She stated.

"He just wanted a new suit for his date," Kanji scoffed. "Get this: he expected me to have it done in two hours!"

"A tad pushy, was he?"

"Well… no. He just thought I was that good with sewing. I told him it would be ready tomorrow, and gave him something different to wear on his date tonight. …Don't worry, he paid for it."

His mother smiled. "Teddie must really appreciate you, if he asks personally for you to make him an outfit."

Kanji blushed a bit. "Y-Yeah, well… he'd better pay for it. If he expects some sort of 'Friendship Discount', he's got another thing coming!"

Mrs. Tatsumi only patted her son on the head. "I'm sure he will. Now, come help me unload some deliveries in the back,"

"Yes, Ma."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day was Saturday. Kanji was at his shoe locker after school when Teddie came running up to him. "Kanji-saaaan!" he called, almost rushing past him before backing up, grabbing the rebel's arm and bouncing up and down. "The date was a success! Mia-chan said I looked even more handsome than usual, and wants to go out again next weekend!"

"Great. I'll have your outfit ready later this afternoon, so no worrying about what to wear," Kanji joked.

"Thanks! …Um, while you're at it…" Teddie shifted. "If you wouldn't mind… Can you make a gift for me? See, it's going to be the first week of our relationship, and I want to give Mia-chan something special to commemorate the occasion,"

"Like what?"

"Well, her favorite animal is a giraffe, and her favorite color is purple…"

"Purple Giraffe, got it."

"But how much will it be?"

"I can make you a medium-sized one for 1050 yen. …You sure you can afford all this?"

Teddie gave a cool smirk. "I just got a raise at Junes. Plus I'm expecting a big bonus by Christmas, so it's no big deal. …You don't mind, do you? It would be a big favor for me,"

Kanji sighed, but nodded. "I'm on it. I'll have that giraffe ready by next week,"

The blonde beamed, giving him another hug. "I really appreciate it, Kan-chan! Thank you!" with that, he ran off.

By this point, Naoki Konishi was walking over. "Whoa, what was that all about?" he asked Kanji.

"Ah, Ted's made me his personal tailor for his date-nights. 'Guy acts like he's never had a chance with girls before," Kanji replied as they walked out of the building.

"Who's he dating?"

"Ah… let me think… Mia Takimaru."

Naoki arched an eyebrow. "Taki-san? Huh. I used to have her in my class back in Middle School… she had quite the reputation then."

"Reputation?"

"Yeah. Heck, it's girls like her that probably made Kashiwagi self-conscious. …But, I never heard anything about her in high school- so far."

Kanji was skeptical. "…Exactly what kind of reputation did she have?"

"Let's just say, maybe it's a good thing she's dating Teddie- not too many guys can compete with his charm, so maybe she's found the 'right guy' to hook up with." he then shrugged. "After all, Teddie knows more than one way to steal someone's heart."

"I guess…" Kanji rubbed the back of his neck.

"I gotta go help out at the liquor store this afternoon. Wanna grab something to eat on the way?"

"Ah, no thanks. I gotta pick something up from the Amagi Inn,"

Naoki shrugged and walked on. Kanji did the same, heading off to finish the errand.

During that time, he couldn't help but be concerned about the kind of relationship his friend found himself in.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The days flew by; from what Kanji could tell, Teddie's relationship was going great- Mia loved the gift she got him and thought he looked twice as charming in the outfit he wore.

During history class- the teacher once again having the students read a chapter while he had to run to the office or something- Teddie once again interrupted the rebel's mid-class nap. "Kan-chan, I need your advice. Should I wear this tie on my next date, or this one?" the blonde asked, holding up a blue tie and a dark-green tie. "I can't tell which would look best with that suit-jacket,"

Kanji sighed. "Blue- it goes with the jacket better. …Why do you care about always looking so sharp for Mia, anyway?" he mumbled. "You two have been going out for, what, two weeks now?"

"Three come this Friday… I have another favor to ask you,"

"Another one? …You know your tab is gonna sky-rocket, right?"

"Pleeeeeaaaaase? Mia's birthday is coming up and I want to get her something extra-special. It's this Sunday,"

The rebel sat up, resting his face on his palm as he rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well…" Teddie reached into his pocket, pulling out a magazine page that featured a model wearing a beautiful dress. "She wants a dress like this, only a lavender-pink color- and rather than a rose on the right shoulder, she wants a cherry-blossom. …Do you think you can make it? I mean, they sell them at Junes, but again they're waaaay too pricy- and only come in one color."

Kanji took the picture, his eyes wide. With the fabric he'd have to use, as well as the details, it would be way too expensive for his friend! "A-Are you nuts?! Something this stylish would kill your budget!"

"I told you, money is no problem! I'll pay you back every yen- just please, can you make it?"

Kanji groaned. "…You'd better be able to pay for all this. I'm calling your tab at the end of the month!"

Teddie grinned, as if his friend complimented him rather than gave him a warning. "I told you, I can cover it! I've been saving up all my money- the only time I spend it is on my dates with Mia, anyway."

Kanji scowled. "Yeah, well, you'd better not spoil her so much. Relationships aren't all about giving gifts and blowing money in one place,"

Teddie scoffed. "I know what I'm doing, Kan-chan. And don't worry, this time we're just taking a walk by the riverside, keep it casual."

"Okay… Just… don't overdo things, alright?"

The blonde gave him a curious look. "…Are you worried about me, Kanji?"

Before Kanji could reply, the teacher came back in. "Just ease down on the gifts- this is the last one," he whispered quickly, before the teacher started the lecture.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So… three weeks now?" Naoki asked as he and Kanji sat in Aiya's. He didn't have to work at the liquor store that afternoon, and decided to see if his childhood friend wanted to hang out; the rebel accepted, since Saturdays were slow at the textile shop.

"Yeah," Kanji muttered. He had finished the dress for Teddie the other day, and once again his friend had claimed Mia loved it… now he was bracing himself to figure out what else the blonde would ask of him. "And 'Prince Charming' owes me up to 225,000 yen so far after that last request."

"Damn… Your mom's gonna be pissed if he doesn't pay up soon."

"Yeah, well… right now I'm wondering why Mia isn't giving _him_ anything in return. He gets himself all dressed-up, gives her all these things, takes her out to movies and dinner, paying for everything… and what does she do for him? Say 'thank you' then drives him to try to do more,"

Naoki tapped his fork on the counter, contemplating his next words. "So you're worried about him,"

"It's not that! It's…" Kanji sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, trying to think. "Teddie's really sensitive. If it turns out Mia's just using him to get free stuff, he won't be able to handle the heartbreak,"

"Have you've told him this?"

"I tried… He makes it hard though- it's his first relationship, so he thinks he has to keep giving to earn her affection. I told him it's not all about that,"

"Lets hope he listens then…" Naoki's phone buzzed and he read the text, groaning. "Ah man… My parents both have to make deliveries and need me to watch the store." He paid for his meal, getting up. "Later, Kan-chan… and tell Ted I said 'Good luck'," with that, he left.

Kanji shook his head. Luck was anything but the thing Teddie needed.

…

The rebel was on his way home when he saw Teddie walking over to the textile shop. "Oh, Kanji-kun! I was looking for you!" the blonde exclaimed… and Kanji noticed he wasn't wearing his winter jacket, despite the weather was freezing! All he was wearing was a long-sleeved shirt, ski-cap and scarf.

"Teddie! Where's your coat?!" The rebel sputtered. "It's 20 degrees out!"

"O-Oh… well… I w-was walking home with M-Mia-chan and… well, she looked really cold, so I lent her my coat so she'd h-have extra warmth,"

Kanji looked skeptical. "What, she didn't have her own coat?"

"S-She did! B-B-But, she was s-still s-s-s-s-"

"Shivering?"

"Exactly! …S-So, I lent her mine. I c-couldn't s-stand to see m-my own cherry-blossom so c-c-c-chilly,"

Kanji crossed his arms. "So you walked her home, and she didn't give it back?"

"Oh, s-s-she had to w-walk to her j-job. I f-figured, since Y-Yosuke's house wasn't t-too far from here, I-I'd be fine."

The rebel sighed, guiding him inside the shop. "Idiot… Come inside before you catch a cold,"

Once inside, Kanji made them both warm tea, both of them sitting at the table. "Anyway, I have most of your money," the blonde reached into his wallet, pulling out 100,000 yen and handing it over. "I've been pulling a double-shift at Junes this last week. With Christmas coming up, it's been busy lately."

The dark-haired teen looked at his friend, now noticing the circles under his eyes. "…How late have you've been working?"

Teddie stifled a yawn. "Not too late… just till after midnight."

Hearing that, Kanji almost choked on his tea. "After midnight?! During the school week?! Ted, that's unhealthy! You need your sleep!"

"It's alright! …I barely sleep at night anyways. I always stay up, thinking about Mia-chan~" Teddie gasped. "That reminds me! Christmas Eve is coming up, so I was hoping you could do me another favor-"

Kanji face-palmed. "What now?"

Teddie failed to notice his irritation. "Well, you're good with cooking. I figured you could show me how to make some sweets?"

The rebel loosened up a bit. "…Oh. That's it? No new outfits, or plushies or anything?"

Teddie shook his head. "I thought about what you said. I shouldn't spend too much money on gifts for her… especially since making gifts means much more!"

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck. "Ted… you give Mia quite a lot… Does she give you anything?"

"She gives me kisses and hugs," At this, the blonde beamed.

"But does she ever pay for anything? Movies? Dinner? Does she at least buy you something in return?"

Teddie gave him a look. "Are you implying that my girlfriend doesn't give me enough?"

"Well, you seem to be giving her all this stuff, and you always feel like you have to look sharp for her."

"So I want the best for my lady-love! Is that so wrong?!"

"N-No-"

"That's what being in a relationship is about, isn't it? Doing your best for the person you love, earning their affection and doing all you can to see them happy! Mia gives me plenty for what I do! Just because you don't have a girlfriend, doesn't mean you can say she hasn't given me anything!"

Kanji's temple throbbed; his friend had chosen his words poorly. Pounding his fist on the table (making the cups jump), he stood up, towering over Teddie. "I've given you a LOT more than she has!" He held up the money his friend had given him. "This money? For anyone else, I would have expected them to pay for their orders the day they were finished- no tabs, no collateral, just the full amount when it's due! But I gave you time- I LET you take your time to pay me back! …Shit, I would have done it all for free if I could!"

His words hung in the silence.

Teddie sat there, taking in his statement. "…I see." He finally said, his tone having a calm but bitter ring to it. He stood up. "Then I suppose I won't ask you for any more favors. Forget about the sweets; I'll figure out how to make them myself. …Good day, Kanji-san." With that, the blonde walked out the door.

"Teddie, wait-" Kanji ran after him, but his friend took off. He shook his head. "Dammit…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Christmas Eve soon arrived; during the time between then and their last discussion, Teddie said quietly in class, not even looking at Kanji- he barely uttered a word when the history teacher once again made some excuse to leave the classroom.

Instead the blonde would rest his head on his desk, having his own mid-class nap, the toll of his extra work hours having gotten to him at last.

Kanji sighed, deciding to leave his friend be. Perhaps there was a reason Mia didn't buy Teddie things. Maybe she was on a tight budget? Perhaps she was saving up for college tuition? Was she planning on buying her boyfriend something extra-special?

…She could have given him his coat back, at least, as the rebel noticed that the blonde was coming to school wearing 2 sweaters.

At the end of the day, Kanji learned the reason behind the one-sided gift-giving…

He was on an errand to make a delivery at the Amagi Inn. Once through the door, Yukiko looked relieved to see him. "(Hold on, Kanji-kun just walked in- I'll see if he can do something)," she was saying on the phone, before hanging up. "Great timing, Kanji-kun,"

Kanji arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"It's Teddie…"

…

Yukiko led Kanji down the hall. As they walked, she filled him in on the situation: "That girl Teddie's been dating, Mia Takimaru? …She came here with your class's history teacher. It turns out they've been secretly dating for the last month now- he'd often interrupt his lectures just to meet her somewhere to make-out. They decided to do something special for Christmas Eve and came here. …It's not exactly her first time staying at our Inn with someone. She tends to stay here with a different guy almost every other week.

"As fate would have it, Teddie happened to drop by- he wanted to know if it were possible to 'rent' the hot springs for a private couple's session, and wanted to look at our best rooms. …When I learned he was dating Mia, I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth… so I let him find out on his own. I showed him the room Mia and your teacher were staying in, pretending I forgot it was taken… and all hell broke loose.

"When he saw them together on the futon… he was devastated, demanding why Mia was being unfaithful." Yukiko paused, taking in a deep breath, as if trying to contain her anger. "She made it worse, snapping at Teddie, calling him an idiot- saying she only dated him because he kept giving her stuff, and how he knew nothing about love… and he ran off crying.

"Well, I wasn't going to stand for that, so I called Mia's parents as well as the school-board and informed them of the situation… so you'll probably have a new history-teacher next week." She sighed. "…The only remaining problem is Teddie…"

They stopped at a doorway that led to the Inn's back gardens; sitting by a frozen koi-pond, sobbing his heart out on a stone bench, was Teddie.

"I've tried talking to him, but he won't come inside. I called Yosuke to see if he could come and get him, when you came in." Yukiko whispered quietly, looking at the rebel. "…Maybe you can try talking to him."

"W-Why me?" Kanji asked quietly; last time he checked, the blonde wasn't exactly giving him the time of day.

"Please? Just try. I'm going to call up Chie and see if she and Yosuke can swing by- poor Teddie needs everyone's support after this kind of heartbreak,"

Kanji sighed, but nodded. It wasn't just because of Yukiko's insistence; despite he was nervous about talking to the blonde after their recent dispute, he still wanted to make sure he would be okay.

He walked over, looking at the blonde's shivering form- though he couldn't tell whether it was because of the cold or the crying. Taking off his coat first, he draped it over the former-bear, making him gasp and look up. "K-Kanji…?" he whimpered, his eyes red-rimmed.

The rebel said nothing, only resting a hand on his shoulder as he sat down beside him.

Teddie's eyes welled up again. "Oh, Kanji…!" he clung onto him, sobbing onto his shoulder. "Y-You were right… Mia was nothing but a… but a…!"

"Greedy, two-timing cunt? …Yeah, Yukiko told me."

The sobbing continued. "I'm sorry… I should have listened to you… I should have been more careful… *sniffle* I shouldn't have been so STUPID!" he buried his face into the rebel's abdomen, letting out all his tears.

Kanji kept his arms around him, rubbing his back. "You weren't stupid… You just… gave her too much."

"And she gave me n-nothing, just like you said…" his trembling increased with another flood of tears. "She said I knew nothing about love… *sob* she was right…"

Kanji scowled. "Bullshit she was right…" he gripped Teddie by the shoulders, looking at him in the eye. "SHE doesn't know anything about love, Ted! Love isn't about taking gifts, and it sure as hell doesn't involve screwing a teacher behind someone's back! …You wanted to give Mia so much, wanted to look your best, and were just trying to be a good boyfriend. SHE'S the one who fucked up and gave up a good thing!"

Teddie sniffled. "But… you said I was giving her too much…"

"And you were… because… well… you shouldn't have to shower someone with gifts in order for them to love you. Sometimes you can show your love just by being at their side when they need you most, letting them know you care, supporting them even through hard times, and just… doing whatever it takes to make them happy- not just with presents, but in actions, words, and heart."

The blonde considered this, then leaned against him. "I have so much to learn…"

Kanji rubbed his back. "I know… No one said romance was simple. It's pretty complicated. But you can't give up… and don't let any bitch get to ya. Don't stop loving because someone broke your heart,"

"I know… it just really hurts…"

"It will… but trust me, the pain will go away- once you find someone else who loves you, it's easy to forget."

Teddie looked up at him. "Do… _you_ love me, Kanji?"

Kanji flinched, blushing at the question. "U-Um…"

"Your actions say so… plus… you made all those gifts for me to give to Mia, even though I couldn't pay you on the dot. And you were just trying to look out for me when telling me not to give her so much…"

"Well, yeah, b-but… I didn't mean…!"

The blonde smiled, chuckling a bit. "It's okay… Sensei once told me there's all kinds of love- love between couples, love between friends, love between families…" he hugged him tight. "Whatever kind of love you've shown me… it's better than what Mia could, or ever would, offer. At least I know yours won't hurt, so… it makes me less afraid to love again." He nuzzled against him, the last of his tears drying down his face. "Thank you, Kan-chan…"

"Teddie… um…" he sighed, keeping his arms around the blonde, smiling a bit. "You're welcome."

Yukiko stood by the doorway, on her cell-phone. "…Yeah, it's fine now." She was saying, backing away from the door. "Teddie's going to be okay. Kanji took care of it. They're hugging it out now," She paused, then frowned. "Ugh, Chie, take me off speaker- thank you. Now tell Yosuke to stop laughing,"

…

The two entered the hotel when snow started to fall. Kanji called his mother and informed him why he was taking so long on the delivery. Upon hearing that Teddie's love was taken for granted, his mother insisted her son take the rest of the day off and stay with his friend for emotional support. "I plan on closing the shop early today, anyway. The roads are becoming slick, so I want you to stay put," she added.

"Alright Ma," Kanji replied, before hanging up.

"What did she say?" Teddie asked.

"She said we should stay put- the roads are becoming slick," he pondered a moment. "And… you don't have to worry about paying your tab- you deserve a discount after what happened. *ahem* But I'll only allow it this one time, so don't think you can throw a pity-act just to get stuff half-off!"

"Oh…" Teddie shifted. "Well… I still want to pay you back, somehow- I feel like you wasted your time on those gifts, and want to make it up to you."

Kanji sighed. "Ted, you don't-"

"No, really! You did me some huge favors and… it just wouldn't be right for me to take them and not give you anything in return,"

"Fine… but no money! Like I said, I'm giving you a discount,"

"I know. I was thinking… I could pay for our stay here, tonight." He pulled out his wallet. "I, uh, was putting aside some of my money for it, anyway. …How much is it to stay here a night, Yuki-chan? 20,000 yen a night?"

"Oh! Um, yes… but, if you want, I can offer a discount too…" Yukiko replied. "After what you've been through…"

"It's fine. It's more for Kan-chan than me," he looked up at smiled at the rebel. "I owe him big time,"

Kanji blushed. "Geez, don't make it sound like a noble-sacrifice or anything…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Okay- but just for your sake, I'm giving you one of our best rooms, as you requested." Yukiko said with a smile.

…

She led them to a room with a view of the koi-pond, having two futons set up as well as a warm dinner prepared on the table for them, leaving once she was sure they would be comfortable.

"Oh… by the way… here. These are for you," Teddie said, reaching into his backpack and handing Kanji a box with a ribbon on it.

The rebel arched an eyebrow, opening it to find hand-made chocolates inside. "You made these?" he guessed.

Teddie nodded. "I found a recipe; it took me several tries to get them right. …Yosuke threw up a few times before then. I don't think he'll ever eat sweets ever again after that!"

Kanji tried one- it was sweet and smooth in texture. "Heh, his loss- these are great!"

Teddie smiled. "Great! …um… would you mind sharing?"

The rebel rolled his eyes, but held out the box to share the sweets.

Afterwards, the two lied down on the futons, watching the snow slowly fall outside.

"Thanks again, Kanji… and Merry Christmas," Teddie said softly as he drifted to sleep.

Kanji smiled, pulling the blankets up to his friend's shoulders, rubbing his head. "You too, Ted." He replied, making sure his friend would stay warm through the night.

First thing tomorrow, he was going to make sure Mia returned his coat.


	9. Pet

***~*Pet*~***

No one saw it coming.

The group was exploring the pixilated castle in search for the culprit. They had been coming back to the fortress every day after school for 2 days, searching every floor they came upon.

When they got to the fourth floor, something gave out. A trap door!

"Are you shitting meeeeEEEEEEEEE…!" Yosuke screamed as they fell, the floor slanting so everyone 'slid' down into the blackness below.

Teddie hit the ground first, the others landing on him as if he were a big pillow. "Oof! Ah! Ouch! Ooh! Urk! Ack!" the bear grunted with every body that fell on his back.

"Ow… Is everyone okay?" Yu asked.

"I'm in un-bear-able pain…" Teddie groaned, sitting up once everyone slid off him. Once he looked around… all he could see was dark. "W-W-Where are we?"

"In some sort of dungeon, it seems like." Rise said, having Himiko analyze the area. "We fell below this place… but I don't sense any Shadows down here."

"There has to be a way out somewhere," Chie said, squinting. "Ugh, if only I could see- it's so dark down here!"

"Teddie, you're a bear- can't you see in the dark or anything?" Yosuke asked.

Teddie shook his head, trembling. "I can bear-ly see my paw in front of my face!"

Yukiko was walking around. "I feel some bars along here… oh!" she said, feeling along the cell when suddenly her hand pushed open a door. "Here's a way out… I-I think."

"Well what the hell are we waiting for? Let's find our way out- the sooner we find that creep, the sooner I can kick his ass for all this!" Kanji grunted.

"Everyone stick together." Yu advised, having everyone stand close in a group; he was next to Rise. "Keep feeling long the walls for a torch or stairs."

Everyone walked, keeping close like a pack of sardines. Teddie was in the back, trembling as they walked. How he hated the dark! If only he did have night-vision like other bears. Perhaps he should have thought about that when making the glasses for everyone- that way no one would be blindly feeling around.

There came a clatter and a cry from Yukiko. "Augh! I-I think that was a skeleton…!" she yelped, finding herself clinging to Yosuke.

"I-It's okay… Everything here is pixilated, so it's not real." Yosuke assured her, while whispering 'I hope' under his breath.

Teddie gulped. The thought of a skeleton, digital or not, being down here made him shiver. "I wanna go home after this…" he whimpered.

"Stay brave, Teddie- we still have a culprit to catch before the next rainy night," Chie reminded him. "Just think of something else, like ice-cream or balloons."

Teddie stomped his foot. "I'm not a child! …I just really hate the dark…"

"You ain't alone on that, Ted." Kanji muttered.

"Keep moving, I think we're getting close to something." Rise whispered.

Teddie continued to whimper as they walked. The further they walked, the darker everything seemed to get. His eyes could barely adjust to the blackness around them. He let out a yelp when they stepped in something, turning out to be a puddle of pixilated water from the condensed ceiling. "Shh, Teddie! Calm down, you're making too much noise!" Yosuke hissed.

"W-Well excuse me for being scared!" Teddie sneered, wincing a bit. Still, he didn't want to draw any attention to the group and did his best to keep his panic at a minimum. Every time they stepped through a puddle, accidentally knocked over a skeleton, or kicked a stone, he pursed his lips tight so his screams came out as a muffled whimper.

"EEEEEK!" came a shriek from Chie.

"AUGH!"Teddie screamed, ducking low. "WHAT IS IT?!"

"Ew, gross! I think a spider just crawled on me…!" Chie shifted wildly. "Yeesh!"

Yosuke groaned. "Seriously?! You can take on Shadows but spiders scare you?!" he questioned.

"It felt like a big one!"

Yukiko giggled. "It's alright, Chie. I'm pretty sure it's gone now," she said.

"Still… yeesh."

"Geez, you're as bad as Teddie!" Yosuke scoffed as the group moved forth. He paused. "Ted…? Hey, you still with us?"

Teddie was still crouched low, hyperventilating. "C… Coming… j-just let me steady my heart-rate…" he sniffled.

"A-Are you okay back there?" Rise called, concerned.

"C'mon, we gotta keep moving!" Yosuke called.

"(Yosuke, shush)." Yukiko scolded. "Teddie…? (Someone better go calm him down),"

Teddie took several deep breaths. He couldn't stop shaking, tears were beginning to run down his furry face. No doubt everyone thought he was a wimp- a bear with a Persona who was afraid of the dark! But he couldn't hide his feelings. He wanted to move on, but his panic kept him rooted in place.

A hand rested on his head just then, rubbing his fur. "H-Huh…?!" he gasped.

"Shh…" a hushed voice whispered; he couldn't tell who it was. The hand rubbed his head before wrapping around his shoulders, pulling him against a chest where he could hear a heartbeat thumping. Another hand was reaching up, rubbing behind one of his ears.

Teddie sighed- he didn't know who this was, but he knew it wasn't an enemy. He relaxed, allowing his friend to help him stand up straight- an arm stayed around his shoulders while the hand that had rubbed his ear now held his paw as they walked back to the others.

"Alright, lets go. …I think I sense a way out over here," Rise said as the group walked around a corner.

As they explored, Teddie found himself being held the whole time. He didn't mind though- it was comforting, and it kept his mind off the dark.

He found himself trying to guess who it was; at first he figured one of the girls, they were always so sweet and kind whenever he was in an emotional state. But the hands didn't feel so soft and delicate- they felt a bit rough.

Perhaps it was Yu- the leader was very considerate of his feelings, no doubt wanting to help calm the bear down not only to keep the investigation going, but also because he was a good friend. That's why Teddie always called him 'Sensei' after all- because he was someone he could rely on! Yet the hands felt bigger than his… and the arm around him felt more muscular too.

It definitely wasn't Yosuke… so that only left…

"Hey, I think I found something!" Yu said, pulling a lever…

With a 'Fwoosh!', torches along the walls lit up, giving light to the dungeon. "Whew, thank goodness…" Chie sighed with relief.

Teddie looked up at Kanji- who was already retracting his arm and letting go of his paw, keeping a cool composure as if he had done nothing. "About time. Now where's the exit to this joint?" he muttered, looking around.

"Over here," Yu called, walking over to a narrow staircase that led upward to a door in the wall. Walking in a line, everyone hugged the wall to keep from toppling over the edge. Once they reached the door, they found themselves back on the first floor- the door they came through vanishing the moment it closed behind them.

"Looks like we're going to watch our steps, unless we want to keep starting over." Yosuke stated. "Any idea what those trapdoors looked like before we stepped on them? Any pattern at all?"

"Let's go check," Yu stated, and turned to the others. "Chie, Yukiko, you can come with us. Teddie, Kanji, you two stay out here with Rise."

"Gotcha, Senpai." Kanji said with a nod.

As the group of four left, Rise summoned Himiko to analyze the floors ahead of them.

Seeing she was in deep concentration, Teddie took this time to talk to Kanji… though didn't know what to say. Learning it was the rebel who was holding him close the whole time, the bear couldn't help but feel awkward. The bleach-haired teen always wanted to pet his fur- was he really just trying to console his friend, or was he taking an opportunity to fulfill his wish?

…In any case, though, he was glad someone gave him some comfort.

Rise had her eyes closed in concentration, and Teddie dared not disturb her analyzing in case it caused Sensei and the others to be ambushed by Shadows. He wanted to see if she could send a message to the others to apologize for his moment of cowardice, but decided to wait until everyone regrouped.

As for Kanji, he was standing by the drawbridge, looking down at the pixilated moat at the entrance of the castle, before pacing around; he was restless, Teddie knew- every time they had to wait outside, the rebel would be pent up with energy, wanting to go and fight Shadows. Not only that, but he could tell how concerned Kanji got whenever everyone went in to train without him, worried that they were in trouble and needed backup.

The bear took this into consideration, then strolled over to the rebel. "Kanji?" he said, tapping the taller teen on the shoulder.

"Hm?" Kanji responded, still staring at the moat.

"I um… What you did back there… ah… Thank you."

Kanji gave a quiet grunt, a slight blush to his face. "What're you talking about?"

"Down in the dungeon. I know it was you who held me…" Teddie sat down in the grass, sighing; he stared into the pixilated moat. "I appreciate it… I was a total wimp back there,"

Kanji looked over at Rise; she was still deep in concentration. He turned back to Teddie. "Everyone was freaked out, Ted. Plus, this is your first mission with us- and we're going after the killer! Your nerves probably got shot. Just shake it off, and be ready next time,"

"Hmph. Easy for you to say… The moment you joined the team, you were pounding Shadows into the floor! Why, when it got dark in Rise's strip-tease, you hardly flinched! A-And even when her Shadow was tough to fight, you were giving it your all! You never showed any signs of fear."

There was a quiet pause, before the rebel sat down next to the bear. "Doesn't mean I wasn't scared…" he murmured. "We almost got killed back then… and you were the one who saved us! You took that blast for us and almost died… Dammit, it took everything I had not to freak out!"

Teddie thought for a moment; he was a bit woozy at the time, but he did recall hearing the panic in Kanji's voice after he took a near-fatal blow for the team. "Oh yeah… I remember that…" he looked over at the rebel. "So, even tough guys like you get scared, huh? You sure know how to cover it up. You're one of the bravest guys I've ever met! …Next to Sensei, that is."

"Tch. Being brave doesn't mean you run around and fight Shadows in the dark. Bravery is putting up a fight, no matter how scared you are."

Teddie sighed; he felt he had so much to learn. A hand patted him on his head, and he looked up at Kanji; the rebel gave him a reassuring smile, and the bear grinned in return, leaning against him comfortably. "Thanks again, Kan-chan. I'll do my best to gather my courage next time- I shouldn't be scared, as long as you're all with me. Ha, maybe someday I'll help you out in return,"

Kanji blushed, looking over at Rise; thankfully she was still deep in concentration and didn't see them. "You can help me out by not talking about it. I can't let anyone thing I'm going soft," he muttered, pulling his arm away.

Teddie looked at him in annoyance. "What's wrong with being soft?! I'M soft, you know- why else would you want to pet me all the time?"

The rebel face-palmed. "That's not what I meant…"

There came footsteps as Yu and the others walked out of Mitsuo's dungeon. "We found the trap door- it wasn't hard to miss this time." He said.

"Yeah- a giant 'M' in the middle of a hallway. Ugh, I can't believe we didn't notice it sooner…" Chie stated, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, we were running through the halls pretty quick, a-and our main obstacles were the Shadows… so details like that are easy to miss." Yukiko defended.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for traps like that," Rise said, then gave Teddie a wink. "I don't want Teddie trembling in the dark again,"

Teddie blushed. "Rise-chan…" he whined.

She patted him on the head. "Aw, I'm just kidding, Teddie. We were all scared,"

"Yeah. …Plus, you had your Knight in Leather Armor here come to your rescue; he'll have your back again, I'm sure." Yosuke quipped, giving Kanji a nudge.

Kanji blushed this time. "W-What're you talking about? I didn't do anything!" he lied.

Rise rolled her eyes. "Kanji… We all knew it was you! Himiko could sense you walking close to Teddie the whole time!"

"Yeah- plus you were the closest one next to him when the lights came back on." Chie added.

"And the rest of us were already holding onto someone~" Rise said, linking arms with Yu as a heart throbbed overhead.

"Yeah… Hey, Yukiko, you were holding my hand weren't you?" Yosuke said with a smug grin.

"No she wasn't! She was holding my hand!" Chie scoffed.

Yukiko arched an eyebrow. "I wasn't holding hands with anyone…" she stated.

"You weren't? But then who…?" Yosuke and Chie looked at each other, both immediately blushing.

Rise giggled. "Ooh, looks like everyone was having fun in the dark!" she stated.

"…I didn't find any of that fun," Teddie said, not quite understanding.

"Really? Not even when Kanji-" Yosuke began to joke again, though paused.

The rebel, still blushing, was giving him one hell of a death-glare. "How about we shut up about it and focus on finding the asshole behind all this?" he snapped.

"Kanji's right." Yu summoned Izanagi, sensing his Persona was low on power. He reached into his pocket, finding he didn't have enough yen to pay the fox for its special leaves. "We'll call it a day. We can keep searching tomorrow- it won't be foggy in our world for at least another week."

"Yeah, that is a good point- if we rush in too fast, we could botch the mission." Chie agreed. "Oh, hey, why don't we stop by Daidara's Metalworks after school tomorrow? We gathered enough spoils of war- he could make us new equipment!"

"We already upgraded our equipment… I swear, sometimes I think you go in there just for a rush," Yosuke remarked.

Chie gave him a look. "I just like to have my A-Game ready- unlike you, Mister 'I was dumb enough to bring swords to a public food court'!"

Kanji's eyes widened. "That was you, Senpai?! Geez, I figured some nut-job was running loose that day!"

"Seriously? You were dumb enough to bring weapons to Junes _out in the open_?" Rise gawked.

"I… never heard that story, before." Yukiko said, surprised.

"It wasn't worth mentioning," Yu muttered.

"You too, Sensei?!" Teddie gasped.

"It… was early on in the case. W-We were still getting used to the process of investigating…" Yosuke said, embarrassed.

The bear smiled. "Well, I feel better now. I guess everyone had their moments in the case,"

"Yep… and until we catch Mitsuo, more are sure to happen I bet." Rise said. "But for now, lets take Senpai's advice and head home."

Everyone returned to the Entrance, the Fox waiting for them as always; they climbed through the TV's screen and stepped into the electronic's department. It was quiet save for the Junes' Jingle playing on the speakers, and outside the skies were dark.

"Yikes, it looks like we put in overtime with our search," Chie said, looking at her watch. "It's almost 7:00!"

"Oh, I'd better hurry home! I promised I'd help clean the koi pond," Yukiko said, hurrying off.

Chie rushed after her. "Well, wait up for me! My house is just on the way…!"

Rise looked at Yu. "Senpai, will you walk me home…?" she said with flirtation in her voice.

"I guess," Yu replied, then turned to Yosuke. "Want to walk with us?"

"Nahhh, I gotta help take inventory tonight," Yosuke sighed, then nudged Teddie. "And this guy's gotta help!"

"Aww, but why…?" Teddie groaned.

"For eating all the free samples in the grocery department yesterday, remember?"

"Oh…"

"I'll walk with ya- my house is just up the street, so…" Kanji said with a shrug. Yu nodded and they headed out.

…

Once they reached Rise's place, Yu suddenly remembered he had to start his shift at the hospital that night, and bid them a quick farewell. Kanji then turned to head to the textile shop, ready to hit the mattress.

"I heard you guys talking, by the way."

"Huh?" Kanji turned and looked at Rise.

"You and Teddie. …It's really sweet what you did back there, too." She gave him a sincere smile. "I'm glad someone was willing to step in and comfort him,"

The rebel blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Then… why didn't you rush in and do it?"

The teen celebrity rubbed her arm. "I… didn't want to let go of Senpai. In situations like that, we all need a rock. It makes sense- Yosuke was groping around for a hand to hold, Chie wanted to keep close to Yukiko… You were the only one who wasn't trying to hold onto something- instead, you became something Teddie needed to hang on to."

"Well… don't go spreading it around town-!"

Rise held up a hand, stopping him before he could start. "Don't worry about it. Like Teddie said, we all have our moments- chances are, once mine comes along, I'll be trusting everyone to keep quiet too."

"G-Good. …Thanks, Rise-chan."

"Anytime. …Hey, Kanji-kun? How did it feel to finally pet Teddie?"

Kanji paused. During that moment, all he could feel was the bear's trembling. It wasn't until he calmed down that the rebel could feel the softness of his fur- though his main focus remained on keeping close to his friend in the dark dungeon. He only wished he could have held him just a little longer…

Though he wasn't going to admit that in this lifetime.

"It was nice," Kanji put bluntly. "No different than petting a kitten,"

"Really? I always thought he felt like a soft fluffy pillow," Rise said, then shrugged. "I guess it feels different for everyone. …Well, goodnight Kanji-kun. See you tomorrow!"

"See ya," Kanji continued down the street. He paused, sensing someone was with him.

He looked down, seeing the Fox was walking beside him. Oh yeah, the Shrine was just down the street from his place, wasn't it?

The Fox seemed to be looking at him, as if expecting something. The rebel scratched his head, not exactly understanding what- it wasn't like he had any yen to give to the animal like Yu did, and he didn't have any treats on him. "Um… Goodnight, Fox." He said awkwardly, reaching down and petting it on the head.

With a satisfied "Yip!", the Fox spun around once before running and diving into some bushes, disappearing out of sight.

Kanji smiled and returned home, heading to bed and drifting off immediately. Petting cute things was, and always will be, a great way to relax.


	10. Random Skits

**~Random Skits~**

"K-Kanji… it hurts…!"

"Just hold still and relax,"

"Agh! It's too deep! W-Why are you putting it in deeper?!"

"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!"

"Ohhhh… why did you talk me into this?!"

"Me?! You wanted to do it! This'll teach ya to think twice before rushing things,"

"Oh! Ow! Mmmmf!"

"H-Hang on, I'm pulling it out slowly,"

"N-No… faster! Faster!"

"*Sigh* Have it your way…"

"AH!"

Teddie winced, sucking on his finger while Kanji discarded the splinter. "There. Now what did we learn?" the rebel asked, putting a band-aid on the tiny puncture.

"…running through thorn bushes is not a good short-cut…" The blonde mumbled. Kanji patted his head and they walked on.

 _[A/N: Did that catch your attention? Good. XD]_

~P4~

It was a sunny day at the beach, as the Investigation Team was enjoying their summer vacation, celebrating the 1 year anniversary of when they solved the case. This time Dojima and Nanako tagged along.

"Kanji-kun, wanna help us build a sandcastle?" Nanako asked.

"Sure," The rebel responded, assisting her and Yu in making a little makeshift palace with the pails and tiny shovels.

Teddie observed, curious. Before he could ask for details, Nanako got thirsty and Yu took her to the vending machines. "How did you guys do this?" the blonde asked. "Can you show me too?"

Kanji shrugged. "Sure." He showed Teddie detail-by-detail. "First, you fill your bucket with wet sand, patting it down so that it stays solid; then you turn the bucket upside-down and firmly plant it on the ground, slowly lifting it. You make a border, then pack some more sand between the gaps, smoothing it out with the shovel, molding it until it looks like what you want. Got it?"

"Got it! What do you think?"

Kanji looked- and did a double-take. Teddie not only followed his directions to the letter… but improvised greatly, building a sand-replica of the Taj Mahall.

"Um… very good,"

~P4~

Kanji would never do Yosuke another favor after this.

For some reason, his senpai thought it would be a good idea to allow Teddie to have sugar when they went to the movies. A LOT of sugar. As in, an extra-large Mad Bull soda, 31 candy bars, 4 packs of Fun-Dip©, and 3 boxes of Milk Duds.

The blonde was hyper even after the ending credits, and Yosuke talked Kanji into letting the blonde stay at HIS place!

Kanji lay on the mattress, wanting to sleep… but his guest was wide awake.

Teddie rolled on his side, looking at him. "This is fun. Better than our LAST sleepover. Too bad you don't have a bathhouse… I mean, outside the one in the TV World-"

"Teddie. Shut up and sleep."

"Okay."

…

"Do you think lobsters are mermaids to scorpions?" Teddie asked.

"Ted. It's ONE IN THE MORNING!" Kanji snapped. "Go. To. SLEEP."

"Alright, alright."

…

"Mom smokes in the car. Jesus is okay with it, but we can't tell Dad."

Kanji slammed a pillow his head, letting out a muffled yell of outrage.

 _[Anyone who can guess where a pair of these quotes came from gets a cookie :3]_

~P4~

The Investigation Team was in the TV World, searching for Nanako. In a moment of desperation, Yu proposed everyone split up into pairs and search.

Yosuke went with Yu, Chie went with Naoto, Yukiko went with Rise, and Kanji went with Teddie.

Searching a path that led to a rose-garden, Teddie saw a large Shadow creeping around the corner, blocking the way to a beanstalk that led to the next floor. "There's a Shadow right around there, and it's a big one!" he whispered.

"I see that. You go first and try to catch it off-guard," Kanji replied quietly.

"Wait a minute! How come _I_ have to go first?!"

Kanji gave him a look. "Because if I go first and get hurt, who'll visit _you_ in the hospital?"

"…Oh! Well why didn't you say so?"

Kanji looked again. "It's got its back to us. Go ambush it- and remember, be quiet!"

Teddie nodded, moving against the wall…

His paw catching onto a thorn-covered rose-stem! "OWmmff!" Teddie whimpered, covering his mouth, his paw clutching the sharp flower in pain.

Kanji frantically pointed back down the path, ushering the bear to run out before he could scream in pain!

Teddie did so, shooting down the path and through the doorway, right down to the front of the castle. "YEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!" he screamed as loud as possible.

He ran back in, catching up with Kanji… and sticking the rose in his hand! "Oh—mmf!" Kanji muffled, his mouth covered.

Teddie mimicked his actions from before, pointing down the path.

Kanji ran out as fast as he could outside of the castle. "YEEEOOOOW!" he shouted as hard as his lungs could allow. He ran back in…

…and stuck the rose back in Teddie's paw, who in return stuck it in his hand!

"Ow—mmf!/Oufff!" the two covered their mouths, then shot down the path.

They raced to the front of the castle, letting out a cry of pain once outside: " _YEEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWW!"_

It was then they finally got the idea to drop the rose outside, running back in.

"Whew…" both breathed in relief.

By this point, the Shadow was gone… scared off by a pair of yells from outside.

 _[This skit is based off a "Fangface" episode. …Who isn't surprised?]_

~P4~

It was a cold winter; the chilly air felt more intense as Nanako was still in the hospital. Despite Christmas was only a week away, the group still had to catch Adachi; today their exploration of his dungeon took a difficult turn, and everyone was growing tired and had to call it a day.

He was staying at Sensei's house with Yosuke and Kanji, the three of them deciding Yu deserved at least 1 night off from loneliness.

Only problem was it was freezing in the house. "Tomorrow, I'll hook you up with a discount for a kotatsu at Junes," Yosuke promised as he shivered, the four of them sitting in Yu's room, watching a movie.

"Maybe eating something hot will warm us up," Teddie suggested.

Yu rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… I don't have anything. Nanako used to do the grocery shopping, so I've been eating out." He admitted.

"Ah man… and Aiya's is probably closed by now," Kanji sighed, seeing it was getting late.

"Hey, no worries! We can run to Junes," Yosuke claimed. "Our grocery section is open all night; c'mon, we can go grab something."

"Sounds good." Yu stood up. "Yosuke and I will go. You two can watch the house,"

Kanji and Teddie nodded in confirmation, watching as the leader and his best friend went to fulfill their errand.

Half an hour passed, and the two continued to shiver beneath their blankets. Even the movie didn't distract them from this. "I'm cold," Teddie shivered.

"Ditto," Kanji muttered.

A lightbulb appeared over Teddie's head as he looked at Kanji. Scooting in front of the rebel, the blonde burrowed into his friend's blanket.

"Hey! What're yo-"

"Hold on," Teddie interrupted, shifting until his back was to the rebel, then leaned against him; he then grabbed his arms and folded them in front of him, making sure his chin was above his blonde head. "There. Much better."

Kanji was dumbfounded. "Teddie… what the actual fuck?"

"This is warmer."

"This is uncomfortable."

"Okay, I'll move…" Teddie began to scoot away.

Feeling the cold air, Kanji flinched then pulled him close again. "Actually… it's fine. Just so long as the others don't see us…"

Teddie smiled, cozily nuzzling against him. Kanji rested his head atop his, the two of them watching the movie. Feeling warm and comfortable, the two drifted off.

…

Yosuke and Yu returned to find the fluffy sight. "…Should we wake them?" Yosuke asked with a grin.

"…Nah. Besides, it's a good idea. Snuggling is a good way to keep warm," Yu noted.

Yosuke blushed, as if reading his mind. "No way. I'd rather freeze my ass off!"

Yu shrugged, walking over to his bed and lying down. "It was just a suggestion."

Yosuke lied down on the couch. He looked at Kanji and Teddie, curled up together.

He thought about the time Yu hugged him in comfort. Thinking about it, there was nothing wrong with it. After all, they were all friends.

"Alright, you win," Yosuke sighed, walking over to the futon… though before he climbed in, he took a picture of Teddie and Kanji, just in case their friends woke up and poked fun at them.

Lying down beside Yu, he allowed the leader to hold him close. "Thanks for staying over. I really appreciate it," he said quietly, hugging him.

Yosuke patted him on the back. "Anytime, partner." Together, they dosed off.

Unbeknownst to them, Kanji woke up and took a picture of the two of them, just to make sure they _all_ had their own reason to keep quiet.

 _[Fact: fluff-shots often are longer than other drabble-genres.]_


	11. Nice

***~*Nice*~***

Teddie sat on the hill overlooking town, sniffling. He kept his arms wrapped around himself, imagining being in someone else's embrace. The cool air blew around him, and he shivered, wishing for the warmth of another.

It had been months since Yu Narukami went back to the city, winter having once again arrived in Inaba; despite there was no snow, the chill got to the blonde. He had the mind to go home…

But, no one was home. The Hanamura family had their own agendas this evening- Yosuke was on a date with Yukiko, the two deciding to give a relationship a try in the last three months; Ami, the mother, was doing inventory for the store, and Noriyuki, the father, was busy working out the employee schedule for next month.

Teddie's first idea, since was his weekend off, was to see if any of the girls wanted to hang out- with the cold winter air, he was sure one of them would love a chance to cuddle with the former-bear!

Alas, it was not meant to be.

Yukiko was off-limits, as Yosuke stressed it was NOT COOL to hit on a friend's girlfriend.

Chie was busy with her training, claiming the practice kept her blood pumping so she was always warmed up.

Rise shot him down, accusing Teddie of trying to… how did she put it?... 'cop a feel'? (What did the cops have to do with snuggling, he wanted to know).

Naoto declined, claiming if Teddie were cold he should be inside, suggesting he try drinking hot tea or cocoa.

 _But… I wouldn't be warm enough if I'm home alone…_ Teddie thought. He hated being alone.

Thus came his wish for someone's embrace. Girl or guy, he didn't care right now… just so long as his heart was filled with the warm-fuzzies, and he knew someone was there.

"Teddie? The hell are you doing out here this late?!"

Teddie's head turned quick at the sound of the voice. He recognized that gruff tone anywhere!

"Kanji…" he whispered.

…

Kanji had decided to take a walk that late afternoon. His sewing classes had slowed down, as not many people wanted to come out in the freezing cold… though a lot of people were making requests for scarves, sweaters, and blankets. His hands felt sore from all the work he and his mother had done that day, and he felt like going out for a breather after supper.

He had come to the hill overlooking the town, remembering how he and Yu senpai would pass the time sitting up here.

Of course, he didn't expect to find Teddie, sitting on the bench, shivering and sniffling. The sun was already set, only a trace of orange near the horizon, and he wondered what drove the former-bear to be out in the cold.

His friend looked at him with sad eyes. Shit! Did someone hurt him?! "W-What's wrong? What happened?" the rebel asked, rushing forth and looking for any signs of damage; thankfully not a scratch or bruise could be seen.

"I… I…" Teddie sniffled, his breath hitched from his sobs.

"C-Calm down, take a deep breath," He rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders. "Now, slowly, tell me what-"

Before he could finish, the smaller teen was pressed against him.

…

Desperation hit Teddie, and before he knew it he was clinging to Kanji's jacket. The moment the rebel placed his hands on his shoulders, he broke.

"T-Teddie…? What're you doing?!" Kanji stammered, both concerned and confused.

The blonde drew back, refraining from sobbing. He forgot Kanji wasn't one for this sort of thing- especially in public. "I-I'm sorry… I just…" Teddie gulped, a bit flustered from his lack of control, standing up and taking two steps back. "I really… I just wanted a hug."

The rebel arched an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's it?"

Teddie blushed, embarrassed. No doubt his friend thought he was a weakling, sulking and sobbing over something like this…

He was surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around him.

…

A hug, huh?

That made sense.

Kanji remembered how Teddie felt about human contact- especially when it came to girls. It sounded like him to get emotional over wanting someone to hold him.

Standing up, the rebel decided to answer that request, wrapping his arms around the blonde and holding him close.

"K-Kanji?" Teddie whispered, a bit stunned. It was no surprise- no one (except Yu senpai) would expect Kanji to publicly hug someone.

"It's okay, Teddie. I'm here," Kanji soothed, rubbing his hand up and down his friend's back to provide extra warmth. His friend felt tense- once again, it was no surprise. Teddie never liked being too close to the rebel…

What was surprising though was how the former-bear relaxed and hugged him back.

…

Teddie never expected to feel this way around Kanji.

As scary as the rebel was at times, the blonde always thought to keep his distance. The brute wanted to pet him? No way! Those large hands of his would mess up his fur!

He had doubts Kanji would want to be close to him either. Ever since that fateful 'King's Game' incident, the rebel had been mindful to keep some distance between them.

But none of that came to mind now.

His arms were strong, but gentle, giving him plenty of warmth. Not only that but he felt… secure, imagining all his sorrows melting away in the rebel's embrace. He could hear his heartbeat through his jacket, the soft sound getting his mind off the wind that blew around them.

Teddie relaxed, hugging him back, giving a tight squeeze. The rebel staggered a bit, as the blonde was pushing into him too much, and had to lean against one of the support-beams of the overhead, though still kept his arms around him, which the blonde greatly appreciated.

It felt nice.

…

"…Feel better?" Kanji quietly asked after a minute.

"Mm-hmm…" Teddie sighed, keeping his arms around the rebel. Kanji went to pull away, but the blonde squeezed him. "Wait, not yet."

"Hm?" The bleach-haired teen arched an eyebrow. "It's dark out. We need to head home,"

"Just a little longer, please?"

O-kay, this was beyond unusual.

He was starting to feel awkward. Teddie never… well, actually no one except his own mother ever wanted Kanji to hold them for so long- let alone trust him enough to get too close. "Ted? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine now," His eyes were closed, his tone soft as if he was about to drift off. Was he that relaxed?

"Okay, well… I have to go now, but I can walk you home-"

…

Teddie squeezed him again. He didn't want to leave such a warm embrace so soon! He never felt so warm and safe, he wanted it to last forever!

…not that he would state that out loud…

If anything, he would have to prolong the feeling somehow. "Can you… carry me?" he shyly asked, looking up at Kanji with his big blue eyes.

"What?! Are you insane?! I'm not carrying you all the way across town!" Kanji sneered; despite his rebuttal, his arms were still around the former-bear (probably because there was no way Teddie was going to be letting go anytime soon).

"Pleeeeaaaase? You're really strong, and I'm a lightweight. It should be no problem!"

"Y-Yeah, but…" there was a blush in his cheeks. "People will see, and think it's weird."

"What would be weird about it?"

"C'mon, Teddie… a guy holding another guy? Everyone would think it's… unnatural."

Teddie pondered. He did remember how Kanji was once made fun of for liking cute things… but holding someone? Friends held each other all the time! "Why is it unnatural? I saw Chie and Yukiko hug each other once, and they're both girls, but no one thought it was weird."

Kanji sighed. "That's because girls can get away with it, because they're 'naturally sensitive' or whatever. But guys can't get away with it because… I dunno… they'd be considered sissies or something stupid like that."

The blonde rubbed his back a bit. "Guys don't sew plush toys, but you're good at it. I even made Nanako a Teddie doll for Christmas! But no one thought it was weird…" he shut his eyes, listening to his heartbeat again. "There's nothing weird about it at all. Friends are allowed to hold each other."

"Tch. Tell that to the rest of the world…"

"Well… since when do you care what the world thinks? I thought you were going to express yourself, no matter what people say,"

"I-I don't… I mean… I still don't want people to talk shit, but… dammit, I just don't want to carry you to town!"

Teddie chuckled. "I'm sorry. It's just… I really like you holding me. I was feeling cold, alone… then you showed up. Honestly, I didn't think you'd hug me at all, thinking I was being a wimp or something…" he nuzzled against him. "But, you did… you're a good friend like that, Kan-chan,"

…

"*sigh* Don't call me 'Kan-chan'…" Kanji sighed. He knew Teddie was just saying stuff to get him to heed his will.

…and dammit, it was working. Not just from what he said, but how _gut-wrenching adorable_ he was acting right now! Holy shit, there was 'cute' then there was 'rot your teeth to the core' cute! It was like he was using his weakness to exploit him, the little bastard!

But… there was some sincerity in his voice. Otherwise, he wouldn't be holding onto him for this long, would he? That's the one reason Kanji had yet to let go, he was waiting for the blonde to pull away first.

Looks like he wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon…

…

Teddie felt the rebel release him, but for a short moment as he bent to pick him up, cradling him in his arms; the blonde leaned against him, once again surprised- he was honestly expecting the teen to snap at him (…although he was fifty-percent sure the tough teen would give in with a few sweet words).

"You'd better pray no one spots us," Kanji muttered as he carried him downhill. "Yosuke-senpai's place isn't far from here, right?"

The former-bear shifted. "N-No one is home. Dadamura and Momamura are busy with work," he answered- using the nicknames he gave to Yosuke's parents. "Yosuke-san is on a date with Yukiko-chan, and told me 'not to wait up'- which I think means he'll be out pretty late,"

"Oh… so, what, you want me to hang out with ya 'til someone comes home?"

Teddie considered this, though didn't know how late everyone would be, and he didn't want Kanji staying over too late and worrying his mother. There was the offer of a sleepover, but Ami and Noriyuki forbade the boys from having unexpected guests staying over so late.

"I'm not allowed to have friends over this late, and I know you want to get home soon…" he looked up at the rebel. "Is it okay if I stay at your place instead?"

…

Kanji almost dropped him. Did Teddie actually ask to stay over at HIS house?! Maybe if it were Yu-senpai or one of the girls, he'd be begging… but HIS house?

"Who are you, and what have you done with Teddie?" The rebel questioned.

"Huh? I'm Teddie, one-hundred-furcent!" Teddie answered (judging from that bad pun, that was enough to convince him this wasn't a charade).

"N-Never mind… Are you sure Senpai's parents would be okay with it?"

"I can sent Dadamura a text. As long as I don't have to work the next day, he's normally okay with it."

"Alright," Kanji watched as Teddie took out his phone, typing a message and sending it. He continued to walk, the night's chill getting to him, and he was somewhat thankful he had a little extra body-heat to help keep the cold shielded.

After a minute, Teddie got a text. "He says it's okay,"

Kanji managed to get a glimpse of the message- it was a lot longer than 'okay', and seemed more like a lecture, but Teddie closed the screen before he could read it all. "…is he pissed?" he asked.

He felt Teddie cringe a bit, but the blonde shrugged. "A little- h-he's just mad I made plans last minute, telling me next time I need to give more notice preferably before sundown. But it is alright, he just wants me home at a decent time tomorrow morning,"

The rebel sighed. He didn't want his friend to get in trouble; hearing about how strict Senpai's parents were, he feared Teddie would be in for a lashing for being out late then sending a message after-dark about staying with a friend.

His mother was more lenient. She was used to him being out past dark, though was still stern enough to tell him to be home before midnight- especially after the incident last year when he was kidnapped.

His thoughts were interrupted by nuzzling, as Teddie was resting comfortably in his arms. He didn't seem at all worried about the consequences of his recklessness, focusing more on this present moment. His eyes were closed, and a soft grin tugged at his lips. _Dammit, so cute…_

Kanji looked around; with the weather so cold, not many people were out. He then shifted his arms (they were growing tired), readjusting Teddie so that his head rested on his shoulder, carrying him like a newborn infant. The blonde wrapped his arms around his neck, letting out a soft sigh, less than half awake now.

"You owe me for this," Kanji said, even though his friend had dosed off.

…

…

…

"Hey, Teddie. Wake up,"

"Hmm…?" Teddie opened his eyes, his vision a bit blurry. Once his eyes focused, he looked up at Kanji. "Kan-chan…? *yawn* What is it?"

"We're at my house. I need to set you down now so I can unlock the door," the rebel said quietly.

"Oh, um, okay…" The blonde felt himself being slipped downward until his feet touched the pavement, though was still groggy; he leaned against Kanji, while his friend fished his keys out of his pocket.

Once the door was opened, they made their way in. "Ma is probably asleep, so be quiet,"

"Uh-huh…" He continued to lean against the rebel, making sure his arm was around his shoulders.

"H-Hey, knock it off, you're going to make me trip!"

"Sorry… just tired…"

"Tch. I don't know why- I'm the one who carried ya,"

They made it to his room; Kanji led his guest over to the couch to lie down on… but the blonde only clung to him. "A little longer…"

"What?"

"Please..." Teddie wrapped his arms around his abdomen, once again listening to his heartbeat.

…

Kanji sighed. Not since that dreaded 'King's Game' incident did he ever see Teddie yearn for his affection! "Fine… but only a little bit," he sat down on one side of the couch, his friend cuddling against him.

Teddie stretched out, his head nuzzled against the rebel's stomach while his arms hugged his waist. Feeling awkward, Kanji turned himself so his legs were on the couch, sliding forth a bit so that instead the blonde's head was rested on his chest again. Their legs became tangled, however, and he felt even more flustered.

Screw it, he thought, preparing to push his friend off.

"Thank you, Kanji." Teddie whispered.

"Huh?" Kanji responded, having figured his friend was fast asleep.

"For being nice," arms wrapped around his abdomen, tucking underneath his back as Teddie nuzzled against him once more. "I'm glad you came…"

The rebel relaxed, letting out a sigh; he rubbed the former-bear's head, before wrapping his arms around his small frame next. "No problem,"

Within moments, both were asleep, keeping the coldness and loneliness of the night away.


	12. Things Will Be Okay

***~*Things Will Be Okay*~***

 _[AU. Teddie is a student, third-year with Kanji, Rise and Naoto.]_

It had been two years since that fateful school trip. Teddie would never forget it (despite the others wished to do so); he had been excited to start new memories this trip, hoping to stay at that swanky hotel with the spinning beds again. It was fun the first time- he just never understood why Kanji and Yosuke had preferred to sleep on the floor.

But, this trip was going to be a lot different. For the most part, Sensei, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko had graduated. Despite they all kept in touch, they could not attend the trip with them.

The location was different as well. Rather than going to Tatsumi Port Island again, the group went to Kyoto, staying at a humble little Inn complete with hot-springs. (Teddie decided to avoid a visit, still feeling the bruises from the LAST incident). The rooms were less exotic as well- just simple beds in a comfortable room. It made Teddie think of the Amagi Inn… hopefully this room wouldn't be haunted…

But the main difference was he was rooming with Kanji… and his friend's spirits were at an all-time low.

For one thing, even after two years, Naoto still wasn't interested in a relationship with him; after learning that Yu was a heart-breaker, she decided to swear off relationships. Rise kept trying to convince her to double-date, which only further pushed her into being anti-romantic… so when Kanji had mustered up the courage to ask her out, she claimed she wanted to remain friends and nothing further.

"I'm a detective. It would be dangerous to have a relationship, especially as young as I am; criminals would find it as means to blackmail me with threats on my lover," Naoto had added… though deep down Kanji could tell she just didn't want to be hurt again.

Teddie understood that… He had fallen for Rise, but she preferred Sensei.

Being friend-zoned wasn't the worst of his problems, however. The textile shop wasn't holding up well these days; Mrs. Tatsumi claimed after Kanji graduated, she would have to sell the business. Not many people were interested in handmade materials these days, some even claiming they could get some items cheaper from Junes. Eventually, Kanji would have to find a new job somewhere, despite sewing was his passion, and he had been looking forward to inheriting the shop someday.

"Things will be alright. This shop wasn't going to stay open forever I knew, but what matters is the memories it brought; and memories are meant to be part of the past. We can look back at them, but we cannot let them keep us from moving on with the path life takes us," his mother had said in encouragement.

It still gave Kanji a heartache. The textile shop wasn't just a business, it was his _home._ It was where he was raised, where he developed his skills for sewing; his parents had run that shop since he was an infant… his father left it to them after he died…

Thus came the final blow to his heart. The trip was scheduled on the anniversary of his father's death.

It would take more than a school trip to heal the rebel's heartache. Even talking to Sensei didn't seem to help him.

He was quiet on the bus, only staring out the window. He had bleached his hair again like he had done when he was fifteen, but didn't bother combing it back, letting his bangs hang in his face. Rise tried talking to him to cheer him up, but he seemed to be tuning out everyone.

Even when they went on tour, he seemed to be zoning out; a couple times, Teddie noticed he had fallen far behind from the group. The blonde kept trying to get him interested in something, bringing up he was taking pictures to show to Nanako when they got back. But, his friend showed little interest- he would feign a smile, but that seemed worse than a frown.

On the second day of touring, Kanji stayed at the hotel, telling the teacher he wasn't feeling well.

"I'm worried about him…" Rise confessed when they stopped for a lunch break during the tour. "He's been so quiet this whole trip…"

"I believe he's suffering too much strain at once," Naoto theorized, resting her face on her palm. "So much is changing in his life- our senpais have graduated, the textile shop will be closing next spring, and he's not ready to let go of the things he's cherished."

"You have to admit, he didn't have enough time to cherish them…" Naoki murmured; having heard of his childhood friend's dilemma, he joined the conversation. "When we were kids, he loved sewing and stuff… then one day some girls make fun of him, and he turns into a hardass punk for the rest of his childhood up to his teens. He gets a fresh start, relives the enjoyment of his passion… for only two years. Then everything is suddenly taken away from him."

"But how can we make it better?" Teddie asked. "There's got to be something we can do!"

"Y-Yeah! The Amagi family has worked with the textile shop, maybe Yukiko-san can arrange something! A-And Yosuke-kun can find them jobs- maybe even open up their store in Junes!" Rise added.

Naoki only shook his head. "It's not about where they're going to go now. It's moving on itself. …I know it's been a few years since we've hung out, but one thing I've always known about Kanji-kun is he doesn't let go of things so easily."

"Then only time can do the healing," Naoto sighed.

The teacher called for everyone to regroup, and the tour continued; Teddie took pictures, the seniors deciding to keep their chins up for their last school trip, even though their hearts felt heavy.

Once they were back at the hotel, everyone had time to relax. Rise immediately tried to talk Naoto into joining her and a few other girls in the hot-springs, though the Ace Detective immediately declined (feeling uncomfortable about such) and instead wished to browse the gift shop.

Teddie looked at the times. There was a men's session in an hour. He walked into the hotel room, seeing Kanji sitting on the edge of the bed, the room dark. "H-Hey, Kan-chan. The hot-springs are going to be open in an hour… want to check it out?" Teddie asked as he opened the door.

"I already did while everyone was on tour," Kanji replied; his hair was still a bit damp, the blonde just now noticed.

"Oh… how was it?"

"It was nice. No one hit me with a bucket," his humor was forced. He looked at Teddie. "Go enjoy yourself, Ted. I don't want you worrying about me,"

He looked to the floor, rubbing his arm. "It's hard to enjoy anything when someone is upset… Is there anything I can do?"

The rebel only shook his head.

Teddie shut the door behind him, walking forward. "Kanji…" he whispered. "I can't say I understand what you're going through… but I can understand how you feel. It's been two years since I've turned human, and I'm still adjusting. I was officially adopted by the Hanamura family and had to learn all the rules of the household, much less the boundaries at work; I had a lot of studying to do in order to catch up and understand school; and… I hardly wear my bear suit anymore. I-I hardly make bear-puns anymore!

"When I realized how much was changing… I got scared. The TV World is gone, we can't use Personas anymore, and some of our friends have gotten on with their lives. I don't know what's going to happen next, and it scares me. But… that's because I don't know what tomorrow holds. Maybe that's a good thing- if I knew something bad was going to happen, I'd worry all the time; if I knew something good was coming, I'd get anxious and want it to hurry up and happen. We have to take life one day at a time for a reason…

"One thing's for sure, though. Whatever happens, there's always going to be someone there to help me through it," Teddie held out his hand. "And right now… I want to help you through this. I can't promise things will be better, but I'll be with you if the worse happens."

There was silence for a solid minute; with his bangs covering his eyes, Kanji's expression was unreadable.

Finally, he lifted his hand, reaching for Teddie's…

Before gripping his wrist, then pulling him forth! The blonde gasped, worried he upset his friend-

His arms wrapped around the former-bear's frame, holding him tight; he buried his face in his neck, something wet dripping onto his skin- and it wasn't from his wet head. The rebel was crying.

Teddie remained still for a moment, before lifting his arms and hugging the rebel back. He stroked the back of his head while his friend clung to him. Neither of them said anything more, for their actions said it all; Kanji was afraid, Teddie was concerned, neither of them knowing what to do to change things back to how they once were… but for this moment, they had each other.

"It'll be okay, Kanji…" the blonde whispered as his friend's sobs lightened. "Someday, everything will be okay."

"I hope so," Kanji replied, taking a deep breath. Slowly, he pulled out of the hug, though- whether it was lingering anxiety or addiction to comfort- he held onto the blonde's hand. "T-Thanks, Teddie… I feel a little better, now."

"Are you sure?" Teddie laced his fingers with the rebel's, his thumb gently rubbing the top of his hand in comfort. He leaned forth, his hip resting against his friend's leg. "Because, the men's session for the hot springs won't be for a while… actually, I may wait and go when it's late at night, just to avoid another ambush… so if you want to hang out, or go to the gift shop, or see what the girls are up to, my evening's open."

Kanji in response rested his head on his shoulder. "Maybe later… I just want to rest now. I didn't really sleep last night,"

Teddie nodded, remembering going to bed late last night and waking up early, both times Kanji was still awake. "Yeah… I guess, after a long day of walking around, a nap would be a good option."

"Oh yeah… how was the rest of the tour?"

"Not too exciting. We just walked around… but I took a lot of pictures. I'll show you once I get them developed,"

"Sounds good,"

The two crawled onto the bed to catch up on rest. Kanji lied on his back looking up at the ceiling, while Teddie curled up nearby.

The rebel shut his eyes. He didn't know what was going to happen after all this. Already his mother was going to move them into a new house, and he was going to find a job somewhere… it was just the pace of the change that bothered him, as if everything happened so fast.

But, he wasn't going to go back to his old ways. No, that was one change he stuck with- being a better person. And he was going to stick with it. So what if he and Naoto would just stay friends, at least she considered him one; so what if the shop was closing, he could keep sewing; as for his father… well, he'd see him again someday, and until then there was still family and friends here he could rely on.

And with friends like Teddie to help him through his hardships… well, he considered himself blessed.

Turning on his side, he wrapped an arm around the blonde, holding him close once more. In response, Teddie wrapped his arm around him, nuzzling against his chest, giving him a warm smile before drifting off.

Kanji smiled back, closing his eyes.

Things would get better. That he could have faith in.

 ***~*Author's Note*~***

 **This chapter is for all my readers. I know life is going to be hard, that much is true… but I want you all to hold strong out there.**

 **Things are going to be scary, times are going to be tough, and sometimes it's going to get confusing- but don't give up, and don't give in. As long as there's still love- whether friendship, family or romantic kinds- to be found, as long as there's kindness, as long as you have faith in something… things will be okay.**

 **Keep being kind, keep sharing love, and don't let anyone or anything drag you down. You're gonna make it.**

 **I believe in you.**


	13. Kisses and Cuddles

***~*Kisses and Cuddles*~***

 _[A/N: I could hear you all fan-girling just from reading the title.]_

The school trip, as he expected, turned out to be a boring pain-in-the-ass… which escalated into an embarrassing memory he'd soon rather forget quickly.

Thanks to Kashiwagi, the students were staying at one of those 'love hotels'. Looking around at the state of their room last night, it was taking all of Kanji's strength not to feel flustered… of course thanks to Yosuke-senpai and his stupid questions, the rebel lost his cool. It got worse when Teddie- who snuck along on the trip- pretty much tackled them onto the water-bed and began to push buttons!

Yu senpai had been watching from a chair, taking pictures with his cell-phone. Kanji and Yosuke spent half the night trying to steal it from him and delete it. After Yu made a vow not to show it to anyone, they went to bed… though Kanji and Yosuke preferred to camp out on the floor, knowing Teddie would be messing with those buttons or jumping on the bed until the late hours of the night!

The next day, after having to track the girls down when they got separated during their tour around Port Island, things went further downhill.

Rise invited everyone to hang out at 'Club Escapade'… and as fate would have it, Naoto was there- and was invited to join them!

Kanji had to take a moment to retain deep breaths. This was the same boy who said he was 'interested' in him before his kidnapping. He didn't seem so 'interested' now, seeming more antisocial around the others. He thought back to that day- they mainly just walked along in silence, before Naoto asked him a couple questions. Who did he usually hang out with? Was there something weird going on?

Kanji, of course, felt flustered; it had been a few years since he interacted with someone outside of violence, so his social skills weren't the best. He only claimed he had no idea what Naoto meant by 'weird'; he said he was acting 'odd'… and Kanji told him to go screw himself before storming off- eventually spotting Yosuke and Chie-senpai watching from afar, eventually leading to a chase.

Fuck, he felt himself go red just thinking about it. His attitude, little by little, was slowly adjusting thanks to Yu hanging out with him, and he felt like a dumbass now that he reflected on his past.

Hanging out with Naoto tonight, he was wondering what the teenage detective was going to say about him…

AND TEDDIE MADE THINGS A THOUSAND TIMES WORSE!

Rise, Yukiko, and Teddie were acting drunk. Rise suggested they play 'The King's Game'; Teddie got the red chopstick which dubbed him the king, and demanded to be smooched…

Tackling Kanji!

Honestly, as small as Teddie was, the rebel wasn't expecting so much momentum- at least not enough to make them both roll across the floor and fall down the stairs! "Hey! N-Not me! Mmmmf!" Kanji sputtered, before Teddie mashed his lips against his!

Teddie kept his arms wrapped around him, breaking out of the kiss (Kanji felt himself die a little inside). "Your lips are so soft, Kan-chan…" the blonde slurred, then gave him soft pecks all over his face!

"S-Stop it, you dumbass! People are gonna see!" Kanji pushed him away.

"Owww… why you gotta be so mean, baby?"

"Shut up!" He prepared to go up the stairs, but hesitated.

Everyone saw what happened.

 _Naoto_ saw what happened.

He sat down on the steps, rubbing his face. No, he couldn't go back up just yet. Maybe if he waited long enough, everyone would think they fell unconscious from crashing down the stairs (which, judging from the bump on his head, could have happened).

Teddie sat down on the same step, shimmying up to him and wrapping his arms around his waist. "I'm still the king, you know," he said.

"The king is dead," Kanji snarled, grabbing him by the shirt collar. He was going to kick his ass all over the whole mall for his little stunt!

Unperturbed, Teddie reached up and stroked his face. "Don't get mad, baby... hey…" he squinted a bit, looking closely at him. "…that scar… how'd you get it?"

Kanji pushed his hand away in disdain. "What?"

Teddie reached up again, this time tapping the scar on the left side of his head. "This… what happened?"

The rebel rubbed the scar. He forgot he had it. "I got in a fight a while back. Some asshole pulled a knife on me, and I broke his wrist, though he still managed to cut me. Ma freaked out, dragging me to the hospital for stitches,"

"Does it still hurt?" Teddie asked, rubbing the scar.

"No… and stop touching my face! What's with you tonight?!"

"Mm…" Teddie sat back, resting his chin on his palm. "I wish I were that strong… strong like you… strong like Sensei… Oh, Sensei! He's still up there! So are the girls!" the blonde began climbing the stairs. "Hang on, ladies! Teddie is coming back!"

Kanji sighed, walking up the stairs…

…seeing Yosuke sitting on Yu's shoulders, his senpais trying hard to keep their balance.

Okay then…

After that, Rise asked Naoto to tell her an embarrassing secret; Naoto agreed on the term that the group had to answer one of his questions. He didn't have any embarrassing secrets (yeah right, Kanji thought- a kid that composed at this age had to have at least ONE skeleton in the closet), but instead told them about how he lived with his grandfather after his parents died, and started his detective 'career' at a young age. Yukiko laughed, pretending the story was embarrassing, and Kanji began to worry just how many drinks everyone had.

Naoto then asked about their connections to the TV world… and of course Yukiko and Rise blurted out their travels into the TV World! (Of course, judging from the detective's expression, it was clear he didn't believe them) …He then dropped the bomb that they weren't actually drinking alcohol, since the club banned such beverages due to a few DUI incidents, claiming everyone was just acting loopy from the atmosphere.

He then left, and no doubt considered them all dumbasses.

Kanji rubbed his face. Well, at least now he wasn't the only one Naoto saw as a doofus…

"We'd better head back, too." Yosuke sighed, looking over at Rise, Teddie, and Yukiko, all who dosed off. "…question is, how are we going to get these three back?"

"We'll have to carry them," Chie figured. "It's going to be tough going down the stairs, so two of us will have to walk them down,"

Yu turned to Kanji. "Help me with Rise," he said, draping one of the teen idol's arms around his shoulders. Kanji nodded, hunching down and doing the same- due to his height, it was a bit difficult, but after finding a way to keep steady they carried Rise down the stairs. Chie and Yosuke carried Yukiko, then Yu sent Yosuke and Kanji to get Teddie.

Once everyone was on the ground floor, there came the trial of carrying everyone back to the hotel. "I can carry Yukiko," Yosuke said, beginning to pick her up.

"I can carry her too!" Chie said quickly, both her and Yosuke holding up Yukiko, her arms draped around both of them.

"Wh- c'mon! You seriously don't trust me?!"

"Um, DUH, of course not!"

"Geez… fine, it'll be quicker if two of us did it, anyway…"

"I'll carry Rise," Yu volunteered, carrying Rise piggyback-style. "She's light enough,"

Yosuke looked and grinned at Kanji. "I guess that leaves you with Teddie, man."

Kanji only sneered, but picked up the blonde, carrying him over his shoulder. "Let's just go." He groused.

As they walked, the hassle of carrying their friends grew cumbersome. Yukiko began to wake up, then had a giggling fit, still acting drunk and swaying between Chie and Yosuke. "Geez, you hyena- settle down! You're not actually drunk!" Chie hissed.

"Hee hee, Chie, that tickles…! And… ha ha… Teddie looks like a potato sack…!" Yukiko snorted.

"Huh boy… let's hope she quiets down before we get back to the hotel," Yosuke groaned.

"Mmmmm… senpai… you smell good…" Rise hummed, nuzzling against Yu.

"Please stop before I drop you," Yu responded.

"You can drop me anytime you want… zzzzz…"

"Geez," Kanji whispered, trailing behind in the back. At least Teddie was still asleep- from the sound of his snores, the blonde was out cold.

They made it back to the hotel, quietly sneaking in. Chie had to stifle Yukiko's mouth while she and Yosuke went to the girls' room, Yu still carrying Rise. "We'll meet you back in the bedroom- make sure no one sees Teddie!" Yu whispered to him.

Kanji nodded, sneaking to their room as quietly as possible. Thankfully it was so late at night that everyone was asleep- still, he grabbed a spare sheet off a laundry cart and hung it over Teddie; when a housekeeper asked, he claimed the sheets needed changed. "Ha ha, so they _do_ start young…" the housekeeper chuckled to himself, and from the way he grinned the rebel got that flustered feeling again, hurrying to the room before any more questions could be asked.

Once in, he lied Teddie on the bed, sitting down on the edge and rubbing his shoulder.

"Nnngh…" Teddie moaned, stirring and rubbing his head, a still sleepy look on his face. "What… where…?"

"We're back at the hotel. Lay down and go to sleep," Kanji told him, his face in his palm.

"It's too hot…"

The rebel sighed, standing up and finding the thermostat, turning it down to a cooler temperature. "There, that should- what the hell?!" he did a double-take. Teddie was taking his shirt off!

"Much better…" the blonde said… then began to undo his belt!

 _Oh hell no!_ Kanji raced over, grabbing his wrists. "No way! The pants stay ON, ya got it?!"

"But it's hoooooooot," Teddie leaned forth; the rebel panicked, losing his balance and falling back on the bed, the blonde resting his head on his stomach. His hand was on the muscular arm, rubbing it. "You feel hot too…"

And for good reason. Kanji was feeling beyond flustered- never, outside of the beach trip, did he feel himself go so red because of Teddie. He sat up, the blonde rolling so that he was no lying face-up on his lap. "Would ya cut it out!" he snapped.

Teddie reached up, placing his hand on his chest. "I feel your heartbeat…" he said, then sat up, pressing his ear against his chest. "I hear it… ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum… it's picking up speed…"

"Teddie, I swear to God-!"

"Can you feel mine…?" He grabbed Kanji's hand, resting it on his chest.

"U-Um…" The rebel paused, his hand on the blonde's bare chest causing him to freeze.

Come to think of it, he never considered the thought of Teddie having a heart- physically speaking; he started out as just an empty bear costume, before suddenly growing a human body inside. Feeling his chest now, he did feel the light thumping of a heart.

"How does it feel? Does it feel like yours?" Teddie asked.

"Y-Yeah, sort of." Kanji murmured; Teddie then wrapped a hand around his head, pulling him forward. "H-Hey!"

The blonde pressed his head against his slim abdomen. "Does it sound like yours, too?"

Kanji paused, hearing the soft beat. "A little, yeah…"

Teddie lied back, keeping the rebel close to him. Kanji tried to pull away, but the blonde held him tight. His eyes drifted over to the door, knowing any second Yosuke and Yu were going to come in and see this!

"L-Let go, Teddie! The guys are going to be coming in!"

"Duh, I know that. We share a room…"

The rebel gave him a heated glare. "Do you enjoy making me look like an idiot or something?!"

"I enjoy this…" Teddie stroked his head, letting out a hum. "It feels nice,"

"Don't say that, you creep! Let me go!" Kanji managed to lift himself up a bit… but Teddie pulled him back down, his face planted against his chest! "Mmf!"

"Ah!" Teddie gasped, automatically clinging tighter to him, a blush to his cheeks. "Kan-chan, you're so bold~"

 _What the fuck?!_ With all his strength, Kanji pushed away, tilting over the bed and falling on the floor…

Teddie, still holding on to him, fell on top of him. "Owww…" both of them groaned.

"Teddie. Get off. NOW." Kanji said firmly, not even waiting for a response as he shoved the blonde off him with great force, making him slam backwards onto the carpet.

"Ouch… you're so mean, Kanji…!" Teddie whined.

The rebel ignored him, heading into the bathroom and locking himself inside. He would come out when his senpais were back.

…

They came in a few seconds later, Yu remarking how Rise wouldn't let go of him while Yosuke complained about Yukiko swinging herself around laughing the whole time. Of course, their conversation was cut short when they saw Teddie sitting shirtless on the floor.

Kanji could hear the rest of the conversation from the door.

" _Um… Ted? Why are you on the floor- and why is your shirt off?!"_ Yosuke asked.

" _Kanji's so rough…"_ Teddie whined.

" _Fuck- I knew we weren't safe with him!"_ (Kanji had the mind to rip off the toilet seat and hit him over the head with it).

" _Don't jump to conclusions,"_ Yu responded (thank God at least ONE senpai was reliable!). _"Teddie, why is your shirt off?"_

" _It's hot in here… and Kanji kept hitting me…"_ Teddie moaned.

 _I didn't 'hit' him… but I should have!_ Kanji thought, bitterly.

" _He must be in the bathroom now,"_ Yosuke guessed.

" _Let's leave him be. It's been a long night,"_ Yu advised.

…

Kanji waited an hour, until he was sure everyone was asleep; it took a while, as Teddie kept complaining about being too hot- and much like him, Yosuke and Yu had to make sure he didn't entirely strip before convincing him to put on some cooler clothes to sleep in. Afterwards, it was safe to say his senpais went straight to sleep.

Walking out of the bathroom, he saw Yosuke once again asleep on the floor with a pillow and spare blanket. Yu was lying his head on his back, both of them looking exhausted from such a long night.

Kanji looked over at the bed… and gawked.

Teddie was curled up with a pillow, wearing a pair of shorts _and one of his shirts!_

"Of-fucking-course…" Kanji muttered, giving his senpais a glare. They just couldn't give him one of their own shirts, could they?

He looked back at Teddie, having the mind to tell him to give him back his shirt- but from the way things were going, the former-bear would probably misunderstand and think the rebel wanted to do something perverted.

Looking at him closer, he noticed how big his shirt was on the blonde, almost like a little dress on his small, slender frame. The way his legs curled up inside it only made him look smaller… and it was kind of cute.

Kanji sighed, walking over to the opposite side of the bed, lying down. Fine, the little pain in the ass could borrow his shirt for one night…

He forgot it was a water-bed they were lying on; upon lying back, the other side rose a bit, causing Teddie to roll closer to him! The blonde hummed in his sleep, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling against him.

 _Shit, not again!_ Kanji thought. His mind raced, trying to figure out a way to get out of Teddie's clutches without making too much noise. But the waterbed creaked with every motion, and even when he did move, Teddie moved with him…

He covered his face. First there was his Shadow, then came the beach trip, then the King's Game, now this… exactly how much embarrassment was he going to suffer?!

"Mmmm… you're so warm, baby…" Teddie murmured in his sleep, nuzzling against him, his hands rubbing his abdomen. "Zzz… hmm, Chie? How come your chest is so… zzzzz…" his hand groped his arm. "Nngh, Yuki-chan, have you been working out…?" his hand then began to reach lower... though Kanji quickly grabbed it; in response, the blonde caressed his hand. "Mm, Rise, your hands feel bigger, hmm…"

 _I swear to God, if this guy gets a boner near me, he's going back home in a body cast!_ Kanji thought in irritation.

The blonde shifted upward, now nuzzling against his neck. (At this point, even fire couldn't compare to the heat of the rebel's blush). He then began to kiss his neck!

Kanji covered his mouth to stifle a yelp. He wanted to throw Teddie off, but then his senpais would hear, then Yosuke would make jokes, and… fuck, he couldn't handle this much humiliation! He felt his eyes water. This was torture!

Teddie paused in his subconscious smooches, groggily waking up. "Hm? Wha…? Kanji?" he murmured.

Kanji only looked at him with disdain, his eyes wincing. "You idiot…" he rasped, looking away.

The blonde rested a hand on his face, wiping the tear away, then pulled him close to his chest again!

Kanji tensed up. "T-Teddie…!" he whispered, keeping his voice as low as possible.

"Shh..." Teddie stroked his hair again, rubbing his back as well. "It's okay… please don't cry,"

"I'm not crying…"

"Okay," Teddie continued to cuddle him, his fingers running through his locks while he patted his back in rhythm.

Kanji took concentrated breaths. He wanted to pry away and run out of the room- hell, he'd run all the way back to Inaba at this rate… fuck, he'd head all the way to the other side of the world if he could! Back on the beach, he claimed he wouldn't let the humiliation get to him, but he had to draw the line at some point…

But he couldn't run. Teddie wouldn't let him go. Hell, the dumb blonde would probably hang onto his back the way he was acting tonight.

He shut his eyes tight, wanting to force himself to go to sleep, then this whole trip would seem like a twisted nightmare.

His ears picked up a sound just then.

Teddie's heartbeat.

It was slow and steady, in contrast to the racing thumping in his chest. There were echoes of his breathing in his abdomen, the blonde completely serene to the situation. He still patted his back, his hand still rubbing his head. "It's okay, Kanji," he whispered, a slight rumble in his chest as he spoke.

"…why do you do this?" the rebel murmured, clenching his fists. "Why do you make me look like an idiot so much?"

Teddie looked at him. "I'm not trying to… I just woke up, and you looked upset. I wanted to make you feel better… but if it's not helping, I'll leave you alone."

With that he pulled away, and it was then both realized the room had grown cooler. Kanji sat up, watching as Teddie covered himself with the blankets, a solemn look on his face.

The rebel sighed. "Just… just apologize, okay?"

Teddie looked at him. "…for what?"

"For kissing me tonight in front of everyone. That would be a good start,"

"I kissed you…?" Teddie rubbed his head. Shit, didn't he remember? "Oh yeah… I was a king… and we fell down the stairs," he looked at him. "And… you told me how you got that scar."

"Yeah… everyone saw you kiss me,"

"I kissed you…" Teddie felt his lips, his face turning red… and his eyes began to water. "That's not how I imagined it would be at all…"

Kanji cocked an eyebrow. "I-Imagine what?"

"My first kiss… I-I-I was hoping it would be with Chie, or Yukiko, or Rise…" tears began to run down his face. "I imagined it would be special… t-that we would kiss and hug all night… and…" he paused, looking at himself. "Kanji…? W-Why am I wearing your shirt?!"

"Y-You were acting all loopy last night, taking off your shirt and stuff, a-and Senpai gave you one of mine…"

Teddie covered his face in alarm. "Oh no… I-I saw this happen in one of Yosuke's videogames once! A guy gets drunk, ends up sleeping with another woman, then he has nightmares about being half-sheep! I-I don't want to be a sheep! I just turned human!"

 _[A/N: Admit it. You were all expecting a 'Catherine' reference at some point!]_

Kanji rubbed his face. "That's not what happened, Ted… Nothing happened. I kept pushing you away. T-The most I did was listen to your heartbeat,"

"O-Okay…" Teddie wiped his eyes. "…I still can't believe I wasted my first kiss… N-No offense to you, Kanji! I just… I was hoping it would be from a girl,"

Kanji sighed. The blonde was really upset about this, wasn't he? "Yeah… well… you're not alone on that. It was my first kiss, too." _Not that I was kissing back…_

Teddie looked at him. "Really?" he bit his lip. "…so I blew it for both of us… I'm so sorry, Kanji! No wonder you hate me!"

The rebel looked over the side of the bed in alarm; thankfully, Yosuke and Yu were still fast asleep, too deep in their slumber to hear the blonde's whimpers. He turned back to Teddie, resting his hands on his shoulders. "I-I don't hate you, Teddie! It was… it was an accident. You weren't thinking straight,"

"I feel so ashamed… I wasted my first kiss, and in doing so I stole someone else's…" Tears began to run down his face.

"Teddie… it's okay. D-Don't cry…" Kanji wiped his tears away, finding it ironic that moments ago it had been the vice-versa. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to cheer him up. "I mean… it was our first kiss, but… n-not with a girl. C-Consider it your first kiss with just a guy- you still have the chance for a first kiss with one of the girls!"

Teddie sniffled, allowing the rebel to wipe the last of his tears away. "I guess that's true…" he rested his hand over his, keeping his face cupped in his large hand. "Kanji… w-was I good at it? I mean, did I do it okay?"

Kanji blushed, not really wanting to compliment Teddie for causing him embarrassment. "…I can't really say- w-we fell down the stairs,"

"…I wondered how I got that bruise…" he looked in the mirror, noticing how close they were. He let go of Kanji's hand, scooting back. "I'm sorry for making you so uneasy… I-I'm still trying to understand a few things about human interaction…"

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… me too." He looked at the clock on the wall. "We should get some sleep. It's almost 2 AM,"

"Okay… Um, d-do you want your shirt back?"

"You can give it back in the morning," Kanji lied down, staring up at the ceiling, at the mirror above. In the reflection, he watched as Teddie lied down next to him, pulling the covers over both of them. "Hm?"

"It's cold in here," Teddie replied, shimmying under the covers, his back to him. Of course, a water-bed wasn't exactly the warmest place to be, since the water inside the plastic interior was already cool, and the sheets were so thin; in this case, the blonde still shivered from the lack of warmth.

The rebel sighed, then arched his body upward before slamming it back down, causing Teddie to roll into him again. "Hmm?" the former-bear responded, looking at him.

"It's cold in here," Kanji repeated, shifting so that his head was back on his chest; this time he wrapped his arms around him, too.

"I thought you hated this… being embarrassed and all,"

Kanji shrugged. "Yeah, well… it's better than what happened at the beach,"

Teddie shuddered. "Please don't give me nightmares, Kanji,"

The rebel snickered; he almost forgot how Teddie was freaking out back then, passing out in the sand moments later. He rubbed his back, listening to his heartbeat again.

Teddie let out a relaxed breath, wrapping his arms around him too, resting his chin on top of his head. He looked into the mirror on the wall, seeing their comforting embrace in the reflection, staring at the image for a while, his small frame barely seen over Kanji's masculine form.

A few minutes later, soft snoring reached his ears, and he noticed his friend had fallen asleep. With everyone else asleep, no one around to make crude jokes, he pressed his lips onto his forehead, giving him one more kiss for the night, before drifting off himself.

…

…

…

Yu had stirred awake in the last five minutes. Taking out his phone, he recorded everything in the ceiling mirror's reflection. He did want to capture a lot of memories on this trip… and this one was too special to pass up. Yosuke shifted beneath his head, rolling onto his back; Yu decided to follow his friends' example and slipped underneath the spare blanket, resting against him.

Not just to protect Teddie and Kanji from hearing any lewd comments from Yosuke, but also because it was actually cold in the room.

Yosuke wrapped his arms around him, cuddling in his sleep next.

Yu took out his cell-phone and began recording again. Oh yeah, this trip was going to have plenty of memories no one would forget… no matter how much they pretended.

Once he got enough footage, he closed his phone and drifted back to sleep.


	14. Cover Me!

***~*Cover Me!*~***

 _[Fan rewrite of the beach scene. Warning: may cause nosebleeds, swirly eyes, heart-explosions, and eventually a case of saying 'awwwwww!'.]_

Well, everyone wouldn't forget this trip anytime soon.

Though there was one moment Kanji hoped to wipe from his memory.

It started out as a simple little beach trip; he and Teddie had to bike-ride and roller-skate uphill and downhill to the shore (while the others got to ride motorcycles, the lucky bastards), and all he was looking forward to was taking a swim. Then Teddie, getting a perverse idea, decided to swim around to try and cause a 'wardrobe malfunction' for one of the girls…

A wardrobe malfunction occurred… but it was Kanji's swimsuit that was yanked off! The rebel caught the blonde in his act and dragged him to shore, not realizing he was standing nude on the beach… that is, until Yosuke about had a heart-attack.

"Did anyone bring a towel?" Yu asked, looking around the beach.

"They're all back at the changing tents. I-I'll go find something else!" Yosuke stammered.

"Like what?! There's nothing but shells, sand and seaweed around!" Kanji snapped.

"S-Someone do something! My reputation is at stake here!" Teddie cried, flailing around.

"Stop squirming! If you move, I'm done for!"

"Be a man, let them dangle." Yu joked.

"SENPAI!"

"D-Dangle….?! Ohhhhh…" Teddie went limp, passing out.

"Whew! I'm tired. Anyone feel like a soda?" came Chie's voice; the girls were beginning to come back to the shore!

"Shit! We gotta do something, fast!" Yosuke said, picking up some seaweed and holding it up. "…Ever heard of the 'Birth of Venus' painting?"

"Hold on… I got a different idea. Yosuke, distract the girls! Kanji, follow me- and bring Teddie!" Yu said. Kanji quickly followed him, walking backwards for a bit to make sure the girls wouldn't see his rear, before they stopped at some beach chairs. "Okay, sit down in a chair, and put Teddie on your lap."

"WHAT?!" Kanji sputtered. "Senpai, what the actual fuck?!"

"Just do it!"

Kanji groaned but sat down; Yu helped adjust Teddie, making Kanji lay his legs straight while the blonde sat on his lap, covering everything. In this position, it looked like Teddie was taking a nap on the rebel… that is, if he could stop blushing. "Senpai, this is a bad idea…! We look ridiculous!"

"Just relax, and don't move. …Here they come!"

The girls came over… and Yosuke almost stumbled when he looked at Kanji and Teddie. The girls were oblivious to what was going on. "Hey, guys, we were thinking about getting some steak skewers. Wanna tag along?" Chie asked.

"Chie, that was YOUR suggestion…" Yukiko scoffed, then looked over. "Hmm? What're you and Teddie doing, Kanji?"

Yu replied first. "Teddie got tired from swimming. Kanji carried him back to shore… and he just fell asleep on him."

"Hmph. He oughtta be tired the way you were chasing after him; after his 'wardrobe malfunction' stunt, I'm surprised you didn't try to drown him!" Rise said, a bit huffy.

Kanji grimaced. "Believe me, the temptation's still strong…" he groused.

"Why not leave him in the chair, and we can all get something to eat?" Yukiko suggested. "We all made boxed lunches!"

Sweatdrops appeared over all the guys' heads. "U-Um, we'll pass. Soda just sounds good for now," Yosuke stated, not exactly wanting to see what Mystery Food X: Beach Edition turned out like.

"Oh c'mon! Give it a try!" Chie exclaimed. "We put more effort into it!"

"More effort sounds more deadly," Yu commented.

"Oh, hush. Kanji, how about you? Wanna ditch Teddie and try our lunches?" Rise asked.

Kanji blushed, but forced himself to relax. "Naaah, I'm tired from riding a bike clear out here, still. I might take a nap with Teddie, here." He said.

"Fine, if you say so…" There was a smirk on her face, which gave him some concern.

"C'mon, Nanako helped me pack some lunches." Yu replied, giving the girls a smile. "She wanted to make something special for everyone as thanks for taking her to Junes during Golden Week."

"Awwww…! Well, I guess we can't turn down one of Nana-chan's offers," Chie replied, and it seemed she was somewhat relieved herself.

"God bless that little girl…!" Yosuke said under his breath.

The girls began to follow Yu, who whispered something to Yosuke. His friend nodded, back-tracking and heading to the shoreline, in search of Kanji's swimsuit… God willing it hadn't been swept out to sea.

"…shit." Kanji sighed. Now that he was alone with Teddie, he was fully aware of his position.

He tried to keep his mind clear, looking out at the waves, trying to focus on something other than the fact that he was lying nude in a beach chair with Teddie passed out on his lap. Fuck! This sounded like a bad set-up for a yaoi!

He shut his eyes. Just focus on something else. Anything else!

Teddie shifted just then. "Nn… what happened? I blacked out." He murmured. He sat up, now straddled on his lap, though had yet to comprehend the position. "Kan-chan…? Why am I sitting on your…" he looked down.

An exclamation point appeared over his head, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"…l-lap?!"

"Ted, calm down! It was senpai's idea!" Kanji said quickly.

"I'm outta here-!" Teddie went to move, but the rebel gripped him by the shoulders, keeping him planted.

"No way! You ain't moving until Yosuke-senpai finds my swimsuit, or someone brings me a towel!"

"I can go get you one-"

"NO, Ted!"

Teddie let out a whine. "Whyyyy?! I don't want to be in this position! It's embarrassing!"

"How do you think I feel?!"

"Y-You can't keep me on your lap forever! The girls will see-"

"They already saw, Ted. They're getting boxed lunches now,"

"Boxed lunches….?" The blonde moaned, slumping against him. "Ya gotta let me go, Kanji! I've always wanted a boxed lunch!"

"Too bad! Consider this your punishment for your sexual harassment!"

"MY sexual harassment! I'm the one stuck sitting on your-!"

Both paused, seeing Chie and Yukiko walking by, and pretended to resume napping. "Oh, they're both asleep," Yukiko whispered.

"Aww, they look so sweet…" Chie replied. (Kanji and Teddie both blushed). "Oh! There's Yosuke,"

Kanji and Teddie both paused, listening as the girls talked to Yosuke. "What're you doing by the water, Yosuke?" Yukiko asked.

"Oh, um, I thought I saw a sea turtle… I-I guess it was a trick of the imagination." Yosuke lied.

"Well, c'mon! Yu got the lunches out and we're ready to eat. You can look for sea turtles later," Chie replied, and Yosuke had no choice but to follow them across the beach.

The Junes heir looked at Kanji with an apologetic look, mouthing the words, 'We'll look later', before following them.

Teddie and Kanji watched them go. "…I blame you," the blonde muttered.

"Me?! You're the one who was trying to rip bikinis off the girls! If you had kept your hands to yourself, none of this would have happened, you little pervert!"

"But it always happens!" Teddie sighed, as if having to explain something. "I read a lot of mangas, and in every beach trip something sexy happens- a girl loses a bikini top, she gets a wedgie in her bottom, they put lotion on each other, have splash fights, and- MMMFFF!"

Kanji covered his mouth. "Teddie, NOW would be a BAD TIME to talk about ecchi!" he shook his head. "Besides… that's just called 'fan-service'."

"What's fan-service?"

"It's pretty much where the writers and artists take a moment to throw in something sexy in a desperate attempt to keep their audience's attention, often mixing it with comedy to help add to the entertainment."

Both paused, hearing a wall break somewhere.

"Anyway… in real life, you shouldn't do things like that. It'll just make girls hate ya, and you'd end up losing their trust and respect (as well as your balls if you keep at it). Just enjoy the beach, have fun, and don't rely on mangas to understand how things work," he rubbed his face. "…how the hell did you find mangas like that, anyway?"

"Yosuke has a tone of them in his room! There's also some he calls 'hen-tai'…" Teddie blushed a bit, leaning close and whispering. "…I was confused at those. I read them all, but didn't see one chicken with a necktie."

"Er… yeah, stay away from those. Baaaaad example."

"Got it. …Kanji?"

"What?"

"Can I get up now, please?"

Kanji shook his head. "Not until I have something to cover himself…" he looked over. "Someone's coming!"

The two pretended to be napping again. They kept still…

…

*Click*

Their eyes shot open, simultaneously looking over and seeing Rise with her cell phone, taking a picture! "Oh good, you're up!" She said with a smirk.

"R-Rise…!" the duo sputtered.

"Relax… I just thought it would make a sweet picture. By the way, Kanji…" she then held up something else. Kanji's swimsuit! "Are these yours?"

Kanji went red. "W-W-Where…?!"

Rise giggled. "I found them washing up on shore while I was getting my cell phone. It explains a lot," she handed them to the rebel. "Here you go- don't worry, I won't say anything." She turned around. "Go ahead and change, I'll keep watch on this side."

Kanji blushed, looking at Teddie, who was equally red. Awkwardly, the blonde crawled off his lap and faced the other direction, while the rebel quickly slipped his swimsuit back on- while looking over at Rise to make sure she wasn't taking any more pictures. Thankfully, she kept her eyes averted, giving him the privacy he needed. "…Thanks, Rise. Um, y-you won't show anyone that picture, will you?"

She pondered, then gave Teddie a look. "For your sake I won't… but if THIS little sneak pulls something like this again, every girl at the school is gonna see it! Do you understand what I mean, Teddie?"

Teddie gulped. "Crystal clear, Rise-chan…" he replied.

"Good. …Now, c'mon! We have some boxed lunches left!"

The duo followed her, sitting down on a blanket that was spread out. Yosuke and Yu were surprised to see Kanji back in his swimsuit, but decided to ask questions later, and gave him one of the boxed lunches Nanako made. "This is pretty good!" he said as he munched down.

"Is there one for me?" Teddie asked.

"Oh yes, there's a special one for you," Yukiko said, a sly look on the girl's faces as they handed Teddie a bento box… which seemed to have purple stink-vines coming out of it.

Yosuke and Yu exchanged nervous glances, as Teddie never experienced the deadly cooking styles of Satonaka and Amagi.

"Awesome!" Teddie exclaimed, opening it and chowing down before anyone could issue him a warning. There was a pause just then. "This… this is…"

"T-Teddie, calm down, I'll call an ambulance-!" Yosuke began to stammer.

"This is INCREDIBLE! The texture is amazing! Kind of a bitter after-taste, but the flavor is great!" Teddie then ate the whole meal!

Everyone stared, looking at each other. "…maybe he doesn't know what good food is yet?" Yu guessed in a whisper.

"Well! I'm glad SOMEONE enjoys our cooking!" Chie exclaimed.

After the meals were finished, Yu, Yosuke and Kanji decided to take a walk, while Teddie and the girls tried to figure out what else to do. Eventually the sun began to set, and the teens decided to head back home before it got too dark, changing into some clean dry clothes and packing up their things.

Not wanting to rollerblade/cycle up-and-down the hill again, Kanji and Teddie decided to take the bus home; it wasn't too crowded, which was a blessing as Teddie didn't want to put his bear-suit back on (worried about getting sand in it) and they had to sit in the far back to have enough room for it.

Exhausted from their beach day, the rebel ended up drifting off, leaning against the blonde by accident. Teddie shifted, a bit awkward, but decided to let him be. Lying against his bear costume, he looked out the window at the passing scenery, closing his eyes and reflecting on the day.

Despite the embarrassing circumstances, it turned out to be a fun memory he would be happy to visit often.


	15. Windy Day

***~*Windy Day*~***

 _(A/N: Hey, look! The story's alive! …oh and I got this idea while reading a bunch of GermanyxItaly fics. Ironically that ship reminds me of Kanji and Teddie in a way- double ironic because Italy strikes a resemblance to Yosuke somewhat. Anyone else notice? …okay, gonna shut up now and let you all read this fic lol)_

March was one of the dullest months of the year in Yasoinaba. It wasn't spring, yet winter was nearing its end, so the weather was mostly rainy or brisk, with a warm day at least once every two weeks. Plus, there was nothing going on- at least, not since they caught the killer and the TV World fiasco ended. All that anyone had to look forward to was the start of a new school year.

This year, the town dealt with some powerful winds; today was exceptionally blustery; every time anyone dared to step out, the wind would catch their jacket and almost haul them down the street, any open doors would be caught and be in need of super-human strength to be pulled shut, and vehicles that weren't bus-sized would either have to drive at a slow pace or park until the winds stopped so not to be blown off-lane.

Kanji sat in the textile shop, looking out the window; he had been spending the day working on the dolls people requested, if not helping his mom catch up on a few orders. But with no customers coming in or deliveries to be made/received, it turned out to be a slow day.

He switched the 'Open' sign to 'Closed', after his mother said it was too bracing outside for anyone to go out. As he was doing so, his mother decided to change out a few displays in the window…

*Bap!*

"Eek!"

Kanji turned upon hearing his mother's yelp, seeing something had hit the window! "What the hell?!" he sputtered, recognizing a mess of red, blue, and white fur.

"Oh goodness… is that your friend Teddie?" his mother asked after another glance.

"Teddie! What are you doing outside?!" Kanji shouted through the window.

"Mmf gnnh nnfffhhh!" Teddie muffled, his face planted on the window. Good grief, he looked like an oversized suction-cup plush toy!

Braving the winds outside, Kanji stepped out and pried his friend off the windowpane... both of them yelping and rolling down the sidewalk when a heavy breeze caught them… and with a few grunts and groans marched their way back towards the shop, the rebel hanging on to the bear. Finally they made it through the door, locking it shut and gasping for breath as if they had just outrun a horde of Shadows.

"What *pant pant* were you doing *gasp* out there?!" Kanji demanded from his friend.

"I was on my way for my shift at Junes," Teddie responded, brushing down his mussed fur. "I made my way to the bus-stop, but I was too late. I tried walking there, but a large wind blew me clear down the road! I called Yosuke because he had an earlier shift; he told me things were really slow today so I could take a day off and I could make up my hours this weekend. I tried making my way back to his house, but another wind caught me and brought me downtown! I saw you in the window and tried to make my way over- and another gust gave me a boost,"

"You'd better wait it out. The winds are supposed to calm down by this afternoon." Mrs. Tatsumi told him, walking to the back of the shop. "Why don't you boys go upstairs? I'll make you some warm tea."

"Thank you,"

"C'mon, we can hang out in my room," Kanji said, leading him upstairs. His room was simple, just a bed, a TV and a worktable where he did most of his projects. His mother brought up a tray with tea and cookies on it; she told them she was going to finish closing up the shop then go lie down for a while.

"Is your mom feeling okay?" Teddie asked after she left.

"Yeah. When she closes the shop early, she ends up resting for a while. On busy days she'll go to bed early… honestly, that's why I beat up that biker gang. Ma had a busy week, and they were making a ruckus and keeping her awake."

"Huh. Well, I guess if someone was keeping Momamura up, I'd want them to be quiet too."

"Yeah- hey! Don't hog all the cookies!"

Teddie ate most of the cookies before gulping down his tea, sighing in relief of the warmth that filled his system. "Sorry, what?"

"Never mind…" Shaking his head, he stood up to turn on the TV; his guest go up and sat down on the bed as he did so; however, every channel seemed to have nothing but static. "Damn. The wind must've knocked out the antenna."

Teddie popped off his bear-head, his human form crawling out and lying on the mattress. "Ah, much better…" he sighed, taking off his shoes and curling up on the bed, pulling the blanket around his shoulders.

Kanji turned and looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"Warming up. Those winds were pretty chilly,"

The bleach-haired teen arched an eyebrow at the blonde. "So why'd you take off your bear costume? Isn't it warmer on the inside?"

"Yeah, but I can't sleep in bed with it on."

"Heh. You said different when we snuck into that room at the Amagi Inn."

"That was before I got used to this body," Teddie stretched a bit before curling up again. "It's easier to cuddle up and snuggle, I have more blanket to cover with, and I don't have to worry about rolling off the edge."

"Okay, okay. If you were cold, I could have gotten you a sweater or something."

"This is nicer…" Teddie hummed, nuzzling against the pillow. "I'm tired from fighting the wind, anyway."

Kanji crossed his arms. "What makes you think you can just take a nap in my bed?"

"Because it feels nice…"

"I mean, what makes you think you have my permission?"

"Hmmm…" Teddie shut his eyes, either not hearing him or ignoring him.

The rebel crossed his arms, but had to sigh and smile. The blonde looked really cute, snuggling under the covers like a little kid. He looked over at the bear costume on the floor; while his friend was busy getting cozy, Kanji reached down and felt the fabric of his bear suit; it was soft like faux fur, but thick enough to feel like an actual animal.

There came a howling whistle as the windstorm outside raged on. A twig snapped off the branch of a tree and hit the window, causing both the boys to turn and look, seeing it caught on the pane for a couple seconds before blowing off again. Teddie let out a relieved sigh; he relaxed his hands, fisted on the blanket, and rested his arms on his knees as he looked out at the wind.

Kanji walked over and sat beside him. "What are you looking at?"

"I just like watching the wind. It's kind of peaceful when you're not caught in it,"

The rebel watched. His friend had a point; seeing the treetops dance in the heavy breeze, a newspaper swirling through the air in loops and sways, or wind chimes, hanging signs and other décor swinging in the tide of gusts.

Teddie scooted over, patting the extra space; taking the invitation, Kanji moved under the covers next to him, both of them staring out the window for a while. The blonde's eyes grew heavy and he ended up dosing off, curling up against the rebel.

Kanji blushed as the former-bear wrapped his arms around him, hugging him like a child hugs their favorite toy. "Um… personal space?" he stated, tapping the blonde. Once again, his words went either unheard or ignored. Sighing in defeat, he leaned back and relaxed, pulling the blanket up to their shoulders. Teddie nuzzled against him, letting out a soft sigh. "So warm…" he whispered in his sleep.

The rebel smiled, resting his chin on top of the blonde's head, keeping his arms wrapped around him as he shut his eyes, the rhythm of the wind outside lulling him to sleep next.


End file.
